


Deja Brew

by Erosanderis



Series: Not Really a Coffee Shop AU [1]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Angst, Bad literary pun coffee names, Bisexual Steve Rogers, Captain America Steve Rogers/Modern Bucky Barnes, Coming Out, Fluff, Gay Bucky Barnes, I'm Bad At Tagging, It was supposed to be a coffee shop au, M/M, Natasha Is a Good Bro, Post-Avengers (2012), So much angst, Steve Rogers is a little shit, but I gave bucky a new job in the second chapter, but the coffee shop is still part of the plot, now he works for stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:55:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23360539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erosanderis/pseuds/Erosanderis
Summary: Sometimes Steve just needed to escape. He liked the other Avengers, he really did, but sometimes they were too much for him. Whenever his teammates asked him where he ran off to, he would tell them he was wandering around aimlessly to get reacquainted with the city, which wasn’t a complete lie. The first few times he left the tower it was the truth. Then he found a coffee shop. Enter, Bucky Barnes.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Series: Not Really a Coffee Shop AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1749976
Comments: 74
Kudos: 322





	1. The Adventures of Strawberry Finn

**Author's Note:**

> Hello lovelies,  
> This is the first fic I’ve ever written here that will have chapters. I have no clue how long it will be. Nor do I have a posting schedule planned. Honestly, I’m just going to wing it like I do with everything else in my life so bear with me. I’ll be adding tags as I go, mostly due to the fact that I don’t totally know where I’m going with this story.... That being said, I hope you like reading it!  
> Xoxo Kit

Sometimes Steve just needed to escape. He liked the other Avengers, he really did, but sometimes they were too much for him. Like right now. Stark was explaining to him, for the thousandth time in the five months since Steve had woken up in the future, how his tv worked. 

Steve knew how his tv worked. He knew how to use a computer. He even had a smartphone. None of that stopped his teammates, excluding Thor, from trying to teach him technology. Just because he was technically 94 didn’t mean he was as technologically inept as a 94 year old. Biologically, he was only 27.

So he had to escape. He got out of the room as quickly as he could. He knew Stark thought it was because the poor old man was confused by the crazy tech of the future, but he didn’t care. Most of the time, the assumption worked in his favor like it was now. Sometimes, he even played it up to make his escape more efficient. 

Thankfully, he managed to make it out of the tower without anyone stopping him. As long as he pretended that he was freaked out, no one would stop him from leaving to go calm down. 

Whenever his teammates asked him where he ran off to, he would tell them he was wandering around aimlessly to get reacquainted with the city, which wasn’t a complete lie. The first few times he left the tower it was the truth. Then he found a coffee shop. 

A month and a half after he had woken up, Steve was taking another one of his walks around Manhattan when he stumbled upon a cute little hole-in-the-wall coffee shop called Deja Brew. Steve chuckled to himself when he saw the name and decided to go in and get a drink. 

The shop was small, but very homey. Mismatched couches lined the walls, mingling well with the wooden tables with mismatched chairs. On the walls, black and white photographs of iconic New York skylines were hung. In the back, there were hanging chalkboards that listed the names of the drinks, all of which were literary puns. The names were written in four different colors with no discernible pattern, at least to Steve. 

The last thing that Steve noticed was the barista. He was a tall, lean man with the most vibrant blue eyes Steve had seen. His hands itched for his pastels so that he could try to recreate that color. His long chestnut brown hair was tied in a bun at the base of his neck, a few strands framing his face. When he caught Steve’s eye, he smiled. Steve made note of the adorable way the man’s nose scrunched up and his eyes crinkled. 

“Welcome to Deja Brew. What can I get for you?” He asked Steve.

“I, um, not a clue. I’ve never really had these fancy coffees, so I don’t really know what anything is. But I do like the fact that the names are literary puns,” Steve sheepishly admitted to the beautiful barista.

“That’s okay,” he chuckled, “I’m happy to help. The drinks written in pink are coffee based drinks that can be served either hot or iced, the blue are hot or iced tea based drinks, the green are tea drinks that can only be served cold, and the yellow are blended drinks.”

“Ah, that makes sense. I figured there was a reason for the colors, but I couldn’t find a pattern. I definitely want something hot and full of caffeine.”

“Sadly, I am not for sale,” the barista smirks, making sure to add a wink as well. “I can recommend a few drinks for you. Are you looking for something simple, just coffee and milk? Or do you want something flavored?”

“Flavored for sure. I’m a sucker for sweet things,” Steve replied, making sure to look the barista up and down. 

“Is that so? You look like a vanilla kind of guy.”

“I don’t mind vanilla, but I’m feeling adventurous. What do you have that’s a little…. unconventional?”

“How about Adventures of Strawberry Finn? It’s espresso with a strawberry infused cream. Is that unconventional enough for you?”

“Sounds perfect.”

The barista rang Steve up for his drink and began to make it. Steve watched with fascination as the man skillfully made the coffee. When he finished, he placed the cup down on the counter without the lid, showing off the heart that was drawn in pale pink foam. 

The barista placed the lid back on and handed it over to Steve. He gave Steve a look, signaling him to try the drink. 

Steve’s eyes widened as he took his first sip of the drink. 

“This is amazing,” he told the barista with a smile. 

“I’m glad you like it. I hope to see you back here soon.”

“Without a doubt. I really do love anything that is hot, sweet, and caffeinated.”

Steve gave the barista a little wave as he turned to head for the door. Before he could second guess himself, he turned and gave the barista wink before stepping out the door. 

So here Steve was, walking into Deja Brew for the third time this week. At this point, he has become a regular at the shop. He has tried everything their menu has to offer. He’s met the other baristas that work there, Peter, Kate, and Darcy. Most importantly, he learned the name of his barista. 

Bucky. 

It was an odd name, but it seemed to fit the man.

Every time Bucky was working, he and Steve would flirt endlessly. Neither one of them took it any further than that, but Bucky’s coworkers liked to tease them. Like today. Darcy was manning the register, while Bucky was making the drinks. 

“Hey Bucky, your beefcake, I mean boyfriend, has arrived,” Darcy said loud enough for Steve to hear.

“Haha Darce, you are so funny,” Bucky deadpanned. Then he turned to Steve with a smile. “Hey there Stevie. So what are you feeling today?”

“Well seeing you always makes me crave something hot and sweet. How about a Tinker Tailor Soldier Chai.”

“Coming right up.”

Darcy rang him up for the drink while Bucky started preparing it. 

“Here you go,” Bucky said as he handed the drink over to Steve. “Enjoy.” 

“I always do,” Steve replied with a smile. “I’ll see you guys soon.”

“Bye Steve!” Darcy shouted as he walked out the door. 

Steve took his time walking back to the tower. He didn’t want to go back, but the sky was starting to look ominous. If it didn’t look like it was about to downpour, Steve would have walked to Central Park, or maybe even gone all the way back to Brooklyn to wander around there. 

Luckily for Steve, he didn’t have to worry about being recognized. As far as the general public was concerned, Steve Rogers died in the Valkyrie in 1945 and the guy currently running around in star spangled tights was a SHIELD agent. This meant that he could go wherever he wanted, whenever he wanted. 

He made it back to the tower right as the sky began to open up. He got a little wet, but not enough to justify going to get changed on his floor before heading to the common room. 

Stark, Natasha, and Clint were in the common room when he was let off the elevator. Clint and Natasha were watching a movie. Natasha was sitting on the couch like a normal person. Clint, on the other hand, was perched on the back of it. Tony was sitting at the table fiddling with some piece of technology that he was either dismantling or building. 

“Did you have a nice walk, Capsicle?” Stark asked without looking up at him. 

“It would have been better if it didn’t start raining. I would have liked to take a walk in the park.”

“That’s a shame. But hey, at least you got a coffee. I hope you didn’t panic when you saw how much one cup costs. I know that used to be like half your rent.”

“It’s been five months Stark, I think Steve is starting to get used to inflation,” Natasha said from the couch. 

“Thank you,” Steve said to her. Then he turned back to Tony. “I have come to accept that a cup of coffee is now $5. But this isn’t coffee. It’s tea.”

“Speaking of tea, you need to spill some,” Clint said from his perch.

“What? Why would I spill my tea?” Steve asked. 

“It’s an expression. Tea means drama. So to spill the tea means to gossip. So I need you to spill the tea on the person that made your coffee.”

“Why?”

“Because she wrote her phone number on your cup.”

“She- What?” 

Steve looked at his cup for the first time since Bucky had handed it to him. Clint was half right, there was a phone number written on the side of the cup. Bucky must have had his hand over it when he gave Steve the cup. He couldn’t help but smile.

“Oh there is definitely a story here. I know back in your day a gentleman would never kiss and tell,but times have changed. Spill grandpa,” Tony demanded. 

“For once I agree with Tony,” Natasha pitched in. “What’s her name? Where does she work? What does she look like?”

“Why, so you can run a background check?”

“Yes,” Natasha And Tony said at the same time. 

“A barista left their number on my cup. Yeah, it’s flattering, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to do anything about it,” Steve told them. To prove his point, he finished what was left of his tea and threw away his cup. None of them needed to know that he had already memorized the number and was planning on texting Bucky as soon as he got away from them. 

“Can you at least tell us if she was hot?” Tony asked. “We have to know if the old man’s got game.”

“Yeah,” Steve started, making it clear that they wouldn’t get anything more from him. 

“You’re no fun,” Tony pouted. 

“I try,” then he looked up toward the ceiling. “He Jarvis, what's the next book on my list?” 

“The next book on your list is Room by Emma Donahue. Shall I download it to your tablet?”

“Yes, please. Thank you Jarvis.”

“My pleasure sir.”

“I’ll see you all for dinner,” Steve said as he walked to the elevator. 

He waited until he was in the privacy of his own room before pulling out his phone. He added Bucky to his contacts, but hesitated to text him. How did people go about initiating a text conversation with someone they liked? 

Steve decided to just do what he does best.

Wing it. 

To Bucky: Hey Bucky, it’s Steve. 

Simple and to the point. Hopefully that would work. 

Thankfully he got a reply quickly. 

From Bucky: Hey Steve. I’m glad you texted me. 

To Bucky: I hate to put this out into the universe because I know that he will sense this, but you’ll have to thank my friend Clint. I didn’t even notice your number was written on the cup until he pointed it out to me. 

From Bucky: In your defense, I did try to cover it so you wouldn’t see it until after you left. 

To Bucky: Well I’m glad you did it. I like talking to you. 

From Bucky: I like talking to you too. 

From Bucky: So, what are you up to? Hanging with this Clint person?

To Bucky: I’m hiding in my room actually. We live together and I don’t feel like dealing with him. 

From Bucky: Why’s that?

To Bucky: Partly because I know he will make fun of me for smiling at my phone. 

From Bucky: Am I making you smile at your phone? 

To Bucky: Nope. I’m watching porn 

From Bucky: Har de har. You are so funny Steve……

From Bucky: What’s the other reason you’re avoiding him? You said me making you smile was only part of it.

To Bucky: When he saw your number he assumed it was a woman who did it… I didn’t know how to tell him that he was wrong. I’m also very accustomed to bad reactions to that sort of thing in my line of work. 

From Bucky: Oh… 

From Bucky: What exactly do you do?

To Bucky: Used to be in the army. Now I work for the government. 

From Bucky: Makes sense. Not the most accepting environment. 

From Bucky: If I ask what you do for the government will your response be something along the lines of ‘if I tell you, then I’ll have to kill you’

To Bucky: I would have just said it’s classified, but I like what you said better. 

From Bucky: I know you can’t see me right now, so just know I’m rolling my eyes 

To Bucky: (:

To Bucky: Sadly, I have to go for now (team dinner as Clint likes to call it) will I see you tomorrow at the shop?

From Bucky: Nope. Darcy is covering my shift… I have a job interview actually 

To Bucky: Good luck, and don’t fuck it up 

From Bucky: Did you just quote mama Ru?

To Bucky: (;

———-

The next day, Steve and Natasha decided to go out to lunch. They went to a cute little cafe a block away from the tower. Since it was a beautiful day, they decided to eat outside. 

“So Steve, how did your conversation with your barista friend go last night?” She asked him, smirking. 

“You do recall me throwing away the cup as soon as Clint pointed it out, right?”

“Yup. I also recall that you have an eidetic memory. It only would have taken a glance for you to have the number committed to memory.”

“Doesn’t mean I texted them.”

“You were also uncharachtericaly happy at the team dinner. You didn’t threaten to injure Stark.”

“Maybe I’m just learning to put up with him better.”

“Or you had some nice phone sex with your barista boy toy before you joined us for dinner.”

Steve choked on his pasta. 

“My what?” He asked when he could finally breathe. 

“Barista boy toy. I’m a world class spy Steve. I notice things. Like the slight cringe when Clint and Tony were calling him ‘she.’ I’ve caught that you are avoiding gender pronouns. I don’t care if you’re gay Steve, I just want you to be happy. This guy seems to do that. Also, I pulled the cup out of the trash and ran the number. Just be thankful I got to it before Stark.”

“First, I’m bi. Second, I’m not happy that you ran a background check on him. Third, thanks for getting it before Stark. I can’t imagine what he would do if he realized a guy gave me his number.”

“He’d probably lecture you on the fact that homosexuality is not illegal and it’s not okay for you to homophobic. For some reason he thinks you have the morals of an alt right asshole.”

“I’m not shocked, the history books left out the fact that I was a socialist.”

Now it was Natasha’s turn to choke. Steve couldn’t help but smile at that. He knew it took a lot to shock someone like Natasha. 

The rest of their lunch went smoothly with no more choking from either of them. They made small talk about avengers business. Natasha told stories about Clint falling off of things. She made a point not to bring up Bucky, which Steve was thankful for. 

By the time they got back to the tower, it was nearly 2pm. They were walking through the lobby when Steve heard a familiar voice shouting his name. He turned towards it to see none other than Bucky walking with Stark. Steve’s as fucked. 

“Bucky? Hey, what are you doing here?” Steve asked when they were standing in front of each other. 

“Like I said yesterday, job interview. What are you doing here?”

“Like I said yesterday, if I told you I’d have to kill you.”

“Technically I said that. You just agreed that it sounded better than just saying it’s classified.” 

“You two know each other?” Tony asked. 

“Yeah, Stevie’s been coming to the coffee shop I currently work at for the last few months.”

“Oh really,” Tony smirked. “So you can tell us about the girl you work with who slipped Steve her number via coffee cup yesterday. Come on Barnes, you gotta tell me something about her. Steve isn’t saying anything.”

Bucky’s eyes darted to Steve before answering. The look of panic on Steve’s face must have been clear, because Bucky didn’t say a word. He only mimed zipping his lips shut and locking it with a key. 

“You’re no fun. If I can’t tease Capsicle with you then why did I hire you?”

“Because in two weeks I will have a PhD in biomedical engineering. I’m here so you can take advantage of my knowledge of that, not Steve. Plus, you found out I knew him after you hired me.”

“Touché.” 

“I’ve got to head out. Thanks again Mr. Stark. It was good seeing you Steve.”

“Bye, Bucky.”

“Bye Bye Barnes.”

Then Tony gave Steve a devilish grin as he whipped out his phone. He typed for a minute before putting his phone up to his ear. 

“Hi, were you working yesterday afternoon? Great! I think I left my wallet there when I stopped in, I was wondering if anyone found it. No? I must have left it in my office then. Thank you, have a nice day.” Then he turned to Steve and Natasha. “So, tell me about Darcy.”

“Darcy?”

“Yup. She’s the barista who was working at Deja Brew yesterday afternoon. If you don’t tell me, I’ll just look her up.”

“Have fun with that Tony. I have some reading to go catch up on. I’ll see you guys for dinner.” With that, Steve headed over to the elevator to go to his room. 

Once he was back in the safety of his own room, he figured he should call Bucky to explain. 

“Hello,” Bucky said, answering after the third ring. 

“Hey. I, um, thanks for earlier.”

“You’re welcome? Why am I being thanked?”

“For not telling Tony that it was you who wrote your number on the cup.”

“Oh. Well when we were talking yesterday you said you were used to getting bad reactions to being bi in your line of work. I figured if your roommate didn’t know, then Stark didn’t either.”

“I really appreciate that. I know Tony won’t care, but I’ve been hiding it for so long I’m kind of scared to say it. Only two people know. You and Natasha, the redhead I was with earlier. And you are the one I actually told. Natasha used her scary spy powers to figure it out.”

“I honored that I was the first person you voluntarily told.”

“I’m glad. It would be kind of weird for me to ask you on a date if you thought I was straight.”

“You want to ask me on a date?”

“Yeah. I mean, unless you don’t want to. But I think you’re cute and sweet.”

“I’d like that. I also happen to think you’re cute and sweet.”

“Then when are you free? And what are your thoughts on art?”

“I’m free on Saturday, and I love art.”

“Great! I was thinking we could spend the afternoon at the Met and get dinner after.”

“That sounds amazing. What time do you want to meet there?”

“How does one sound?”

“Sounds great. I’ll see you then Stevie.”

“See you soon Buck.”

When they finally hung up, Steve found himself staring at his phone with a huge smile on his face. 

Only three more days until his date with Bucky.


	2. The Count of Macchiato

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey lovelies,  
> I still have no idea how long this is going to be. Still don’t know where I’m going with this. But, I have chapter three finished as well, and four will probably be done by the end of the day. 
> 
> Also, please note that for their date at the Met, I had a map open to the floor plan. All the pieces that I mention are all things that can be found at the Met and there will be links to them in the end notes. 
> 
> Enjoy,  
> Xoxo Kit

By the time Saturday arrived, Steve was both nervous and excited. Not long after he hung up with Bucky, he called Natasha so she could help him pick out an outfit for his date. She told him to wear his black skinny jeans, because they made his ass look great, and a plain white T-shirt with a blue flannel tied around his waist. She also advised that he wore his doc martens.

He knew the outfit made him look like a hipster, but he was kind of okay with it. He was half tempted to put on fake glasses and a beanie to finish off the look, but thought better of it. 

He looked at the clock and seeing that it was already noon, figured he should start making his way to the museum. It was a beautiful day, so he decided to walk opposed to taking the subway. He double checked that he had his wallet and keys before heading out the door. He also made sure to pocket the folded piece of paper that was sitting next to them on the counter. 

The walk itself only took forty minutes, making him a little early. He sat down on the steps to wait for Bucky. 

After about ten minutes of waiting, Steve saw a familiar figure approaching. Bucky looked amazing. He was wearing a sheer black button down T-shirt with a floral pattern, black, skinny jeans, and combat boots. His long hair was in a half bun. 

“Hey, you look great,” he told Bucky. He couldn’t help but smile as the other man blushed and ducked his head. 

“Thanks, you look great too.”

“Oh, this is for you,” Steve said, handing over the folded piece of paper that he had in his pocket. 

Bucky gave him a confused look, but smiled when he opened the paper up. On it was a beautifully drawn bouquet of flowers. 

“My ma always told me to bring flowers on a first date. I figured drawing them would be better though, so you didn’t have to carry them around the museum.”

“You drew this?” Bucky looked up in shock. 

“Yeah, I used to dabble in drawing when I was younger. I even went to art school for a little while.”

“This is amazing. I’m going to hang it up when I get home,” he told him, putting the drawing in his pocket. “Now that I know you went to art school, I expect you to teach me all you know about everything we look at today.”

“It was a long time ago, but I’ll try my best for you.”

They walked into the museum and Steve paid for their tickets. They decided to start with the Greek and Roman art. 

As they walked around the room, Steve told Bucky all that he could remember about the works and techniques used to make them. Bucky listened attentively with a small smile on his face. 

At one point, Steve heard Bucky stifling a laugh. 

“What’s so funny over there?” Steve asked. 

“Come look at this one Stevie,” he said, pointing to the piece that was amusing him. 

“Bronze statuette of drunken Heracles,” Steve read with a laugh. “He’s the Greek version of Hercules right?”

“Yup. But it’s not the name I’m laughing at.”

“Then What is it?”

“You really want to know?”

“Yup.”

“Fine, I think it’s funny because Hercules is a big muscly guy right? He was a Greek hero and all that. But in this little statue, it looks like his dick is the same size as his nose. Megara must have been so disappointed.”

Steve dropped his head onto Bucky’s shoulder, laughing hysterically. 

“Oh my god, Buck. Why would you say that? I love that movie. Now all I can think about is the disappointment on Megara’s face when she and Hercules have sex for the first time. I don’t want to think about Disney characters having sex Bucky.”

“I’m sorry,” Bucky said, while laughing along with Steve. “Actually, I’m not. Let’s keep going and see what other Disney movies I can ruin for you.”

“You’re an asshole. Just stay away from Snow White.” 

“I’ll try.”

They eventually made their way out of the Greek and Roman art wing. Bucky dragged Steve through the wing dedicated to Oceania. He told Steve that they could come back to it, but there was somewhere that he wanted to go next. Bucky dragged him to the European sculpture wing, looking around at everything there like he was on a mission. 

After a few minutes of searching for something, Bucky stopped and turned to Steve with a wolfish grin. 

“It looks like Lumiére also leaves something to be desired,” he said, pointing to the candelabra in front of him. “He also seems to be half goat. Interesting how they left that out in the movie.” 

Steve looked over to see an ornate late 18th century candelabra with a faun making up most of the stem. While what Bucky was drawing his attention to was covered by a leaf, it wasn’t a big leaf. Steve couldn’t help but groan, making Bucky laugh. 

“Why did you have to ruin Beauty and the Beast too?”

“Because it’s fun. And now that ruined another Disney movie, we can actually look around this wing.”

“And you won’t ruin anything else for me?”

“You know I can’t promise that Stevie.” 

Steve rolled his eyes, but took Bucky’s hand and began to walk through the rest of the wing. 

“Huh,” Bucky said after a while of walking. 

“I’m scared to ask this, but what?” 

“I’ve seen plates and spoons from 18th century Germany, but no frying pans. Though I guess this silvery coffee pot could be an effective weapon. It probably would have done as much damage to Flynn and the pan did when Rapunzel hit him with it.”

“Well, at least this Disney reference wasn’t sexual.”

“Oh just you wait Stevie. I’m going to find a really bad one for you.”

Steve decided not to answer him and just kept moving. Instead of going to see the medieval works, they decided to take the elevator to explore the second floor. 

They made it through the 19th and 20th century paintings without a problem. Steve knew quite a bit about some of the works on display, so he kept up a steady stream of commentary on them. Bucky would smile and nod as Steve went on, occasionally stopping to ask questions. 

When they had finished with that section, they made it through to the Arab Lands wing. They moved through the wing, commenting on the many fragments of cloth and pottery that filled the area. 

After a while, Bucky stopped walking. He moved over to one of the cases and pointed to a stucco sculpture of a nude female figure. 

“I’d bet twenty bucks that’s supposed to be Jasmine,” he whispered with a straight face. 

Steve just stared at him for a second, before bursting into laughter. Bucky quickly joined in, earning some odd looks from the other people in the room. 

After a few minutes they managed to calm down enough to move on. They kept walking until they got to the stairs by the Near Eastern Art wing. They took a quick walk through it before turning back to the stairs. They had already been there for over four and a half hours and they had a dinner reservation at six. They decided to head out, promising to come back another day to explore the rest of the museum together. 

It was a quick walk to Grazie, the restaurant Steve had chosen for dinner. The hostess seated them not long after they checked in, and handed them their menus. 

Steve and Bucky both perused the cocktail menu while they waited for their server to arrive. When he arrived, he took their drink order, an Italian cocktail for Bucky and a rum negroni for Steve. 

As they waited for their drinks, they decided to split the black truffle salmon tartar as an appetizer and selected their entrees. Bucky opted for the gnocchi, while Steve went for the linguine vongole with a white wine sauce. 

When their server returned with the drinks they placed their order and began to make small talk. 

Steve learned that Bucky was born and raised in Brooklyn, his parents have been happily married for thirty years, and he has a younger sister named Becca who was a senior at NYU. In turn, Steve told Bucky that he was an only child, he never knew his father, and his mother passed when he was 18. 

Everything was going great until Steve asked Bucky when he knew he was gay.

“My dad was a huge history buff. Like, half of the bookshelves in my parents house are filled with books about the mid 20th century. So one day, when I was about eight, he called me into the living room. He sat me down in front of the tv and told me that it was time to learn about one of the greatest heroes of World War Two. Instead of some boring documentary starting, like I was expecting, he had put on some cheesy propaganda film. You will never guess what it was about?”

“What?” Steve asked, curiosity piqued. He had seen a lot of those at the time and was wondering which amazing historical figure, other than him, had made those. 

“Captain America.”

Steve choked on his drink.

“Really?” He asked when he regained the ability to breathe, trying to hide his panic. 

“Yeah,” he continued once he was sure Steve was okay. “He made me sit there and watch a bunch of them. I spent about an hour with my dad watching this guy in star spangled tights fighting against nazis. It was the last one that got me. At the end, he was fighting some nazis as per usual, but after he punched the last one he turned to the camera and winked. When it ended my dad asked me what I thought and all I could say was ‘I think I want to marry Captain America.’ My dad laughed it off and continued with his lesson. As he told me more stories about him, I liked him more. A few hours later at dinner my mom asked how our day went and I told her the same thing. Unlike my dad, she didn’t laugh it off. She gave me a smile and asked if I thought boys were cute. I said yes, so she asked if I felt the same about girls and I said no. So she decided to teach me everything she knew about the lgbtq community at the time. Since then, it’s been a running joke in my family.” 

“That’s so sweet. How did your dad react to that? Since he laughed it off at first.”

“He was fine with it. When I was older he told me the only reason he laughed was because he thought it was funny that my first reaction to seeing Cap punching nazis was to want to marry him. Sometimes he will send me videos of random guys punching nazis or white supremisists and ask if he should start planning our wedding.”

Steve chuckled at that, but he was internally panicking. What if Bucky realized that he was Captain America, not just the one running around right now, but the same one from seventy years ago. And what did Bucky think of the fact that there was currently a Captain America? He decided to suck it up and ask. 

“So what did you think when you saw the new Cap running around a few months ago?”

“I actually have a conspiracy theory about that.”

“Oh yeah? What is it?”

“The Cap running around now is the same one from the 1940’s. I think the serum made him immortal and he didn’t actually crash his plane. I think he managed to land it in Greenland or something and Peggy Carter came to his rescue. They decided to tell the world that he was dead so that they could live their lives together in peace. Since Peggy started SHIELD, the higher ups knew Steve was still alive. So when the aliens came down, he suited back up to fight with the Avengers. I think it’s a lie that it’s some random agent. Also Becca is writing her senior thesis on Cap, so she knows more about him then I do. She says the new Cap has the same fighting style as the old Cap. Either this new agent trained for years to have that specific style of fighting, or it’s the same guy. I chose to believe the latter.”

“Let me get this straight, you think Captain America is immortal and he’s been living in hiding for seventy years?” Steve pauses, and Bucky nods. “And, he chose now to come out of hiding? Why now? Why not in 2001? Why not during Vietnam?” 

“Aliens Stevie, aliens. Normal people can fight a war. Only superheroes can fight aliens.” 

“You keep telling yourself that.”

“I will until I am given definitive proof that I am wrong.”

At that point, Steve decided to change the subject. He tries to take the conversation as far away from Cap as he can. He decided to ask Bucky about Disney movies. 

They spend the rest of their dinner talking about their favorite movies. They realize that they have similar tastes, so they decide to have a movie night. 

Eventually, Steve pays the bill and it’s time to head out. Steve asks if he can walk him home. Bucky enthusiastically agrees, taking Steve’s hand and leading the way to his apartment. 

After a couple of subway stops and twenty minutes of walking, they finally made it to Bucky’s apartment building. Steve walked Bucky up to the front door. 

“I had fun today,” Bucky told him with a smile. 

“Me too. I’d like to take you out again, if you’d like.” 

“I would like that very much.”

“Can, um, can I kiss you?” Steve asked shyly. 

Instead of answering, Bucky puts his hand on Steve’s cheek and pulls him down for a kiss. It’s quick, just a light peck on this lips, but Steve can feel his heart beating faster. The kiss didn’t feel like fireworks or any of the other cliche ways to describe a first kiss. It felt natural and comfortable, like home. Bucky’s lips were soft against his. 

When Bucky pulled back, he had a soft smile on his lips. Steve knew he had a matching one. 

“Good night Stevie.”

“Good night Bucky.”

With that, Bucky unlocked the front door and headed inside. He gave Steve a little flirty wave before he shut the door behind him. 

Steve decided it would be best for him to walk back to the tower. He had a lot to think about after his conversation with Bucky. He doubted he would be getting any sleep. 

‘If I’m not going to sleep, I might as well get a coffee,’ he thought to himself. 

He found himself walking in the direction of Deja Brew. 

Of course. 

When he got in, he saw that Kate was working tonight. 

“Hey Kate,” he said when she looked up at him. 

“Hey Steve. How’s it going?”

“Not bad, but I’m going to have a late night tonight.”

“Ew. What do you want? I’ll throw in an extra shot on the house.”

“A Count of Macchiato, please and thank you. You’re an angel.”

“I know I am.”

He paid for his coffee, putting a five in the tip jar.

“So what’s gonna keep you up so late?”

“My friend Nat. She’s having boyfriend issues,” he lied easily. 

“That sucks. Hopefully everything works out for the best,” Kate said, handing him his coffee. “Enjoy, and good luck tonight.”

“Thanks, I’m gonna need it.” 

He sipped his coffee as he made his way back to the tower. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t think he could figure it out on his own. 

To Nat: I’ll be back to the tower in 10 minutes. Meet me on my floor.

From Nat: Was the date that bad?

To Nat: Actually, it was nearly perfect. 

To Nat: It’s the one thing that prevented it from being perfect that I need to talk about.

From Nat: Was he a bad kisser? That’s always the worst. 

To Nat: No, it was great. I’ll tell you when I get there. 

From Nat: I’ll be on your couch and eating your food when you get here 

To Nat: *middle finger emoji*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Heracles statue- https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/249036  
> The candelabra- https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/202225  
> The coffee pot- https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/208859  
> The female figure- https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/449445
> 
> All of these pieces come from the time period and region the Disney movies I referenced take place in.... 
> 
> Also, Grazie is a real restaurant that is a few blocks from the Met. I’ve never gone, but it sounds really good.


	3. Charlie and the Mocha Factory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey lovelies,   
> I finally figured out a posting schedule!! I will be adding new chapters every Saturday and Sunday! (Today is an exception because I want to end on a better cliff hanger than chapter 2)  
> I hope you like it!  
> Xoxo Kit

“I don’t know what to do!” Steve shouted as he walked onto his floor. 

“I don’t know what you should do either,” Natasha responded, munching on a bowl of popcorn. “Maybe tell me the problem.”

“Everything was going perfect until we were having dinner.”

“Is he a messy eater? Does he chew with his mouth open?” Natasha interrupted. 

“None of the above. Now please let me finish. We were talking about our lives and all the normal first date stuff, but then I decided to ask how he knew he was gay. You know what he said?”

“What did he say?”

“That when he was eight his dad made him watch those stupid fucking propaganda films the army made me do. Aparently at the end of one of them I punched a nazi in the face and then winked that the camera. Me punching nazis in the face made Bucky realize he was gay.”

“Holy shit Steve.”

“Oh it gets worse. When I asked him what he thought about the new Cap running around he said he had a conspiracy theory. Said theory involved the original Cap being very much alive and kicking, literally. And his sister is doing her fucking undergrad thesis on me, and she agrees with him! She noticed that my fighting style is the same as it was seventy years ago.”

“Holy fuck. What are you going to do?”

“I don’t have a fucking clue Nat. I really like him. He’s so sweet, and we had a great time at the museum. He listened to me ramble on about art for hours and seemed to actually enjoy it. And when we kissed it felt like coming home.”

“You’re fucked.”

“You’re useless.”

Nat threw a piece of popcorn at his head instead of answering. 

“I asked you to come here in the hopes of getting some advice. Please tell me you have something.”

“You can’t tell him, but you also can’t not tell him.”

“Wow, real helpful.”

“You can’t tell him because the only people who know have the highest clearance in the government. If you tell some random guy, what happens if he decides to tell the world? What if he is secretly working for A.I.M? What if he isn’t, but his sister is and he tells her. There are so many things that can go wrong if you tell him.”

“But he works for Tony now. He had to have gone through a rigorous vetting process.” 

“So did I when SHIELD planted me. If the organization is good enough, you will pass the background check.” 

“Shit.” 

“Mhm. But there will also be major problems if you don’t tell him. You would be lying about your identity to him. Yeah, he would know your name, but he wouldn’t know much else. And if it got out that you are Cap, he will feel betrayed that you didn’t tell him. He will be hurt that you didn’t trust him enough to let him in to that part of your life. He will be pissed that he told you about his nearly life long crush on you, and you just sat there and said nothing. There isn’t a right way to go about this.”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah. And the worst part is that he works with Tony now. We both know what man will say something stupid at some point.”

“Holy shit! Nat you’re a fucking genius.”

“What did I do?”

“I’m gonna go talk to Tony.”

“That’s a terrible idea.”

“Thanks so much for your help Nat,” Steve said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before running into the elevator. “Jarvis, take to Tony please.” 

“As you wish, Captain Rogers.”

The elevator brought him up to Tony’s lab. There was rock music blasting through the room, but it was lowered as Steve stepped out of the elevator. 

“Jarvis, turn it back up,” Tony demanded, without looking up from whatever he was tinkering with. 

“You have company sir,” The A.I. told him.

“I have, oh? Hi Cap. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Remember the new guy you hired, Bucky?”

“The one who works with your barista girlfriend? Sounds familiar. Why?”

“In what capacity will he be working here?”

“Full time.”

“I meant what kind of access will he have to the team.”

“Why? You scared he’s gonna tell your girlfriend your little secret?”

“Tony.”

“Ugh, you’re no fun right now. Buck-a-boo will be working with me and Bruce on the prosthetics program. But there is also a chance that he could get used for some team related things. Don’t worry, on Monday Pepper is going to make him sign so many NDA’s that his wrist will be hurting more than when he was a teenager. So he won’t tell her a thing.”

“He’s the one who gave me his number.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Bucky and I have been flirting the past few months whenever I go to his coffee shop. That day, he was the one who wrote his number on the cup. And I took him out on a date tonight.”

“A date? Like the romantic kind?”

“Yes Tony.”

“But you can’t be gay, you’re Captian America. What about Peggy.”

“Have you ever heard of this magical thing called bisexuality? I didn’t know there was a term for it until I came out of the ice, but I felt it since I was about thirteen.”

“Okay cool. So, do you not want him to know you are Cap? Cuz it’s going to be hard to keep it from him. Fury even added him to the list of people who are permitted to know.”

“I want to be the one to tell him. Do you think you can keep your mouth shut about it until after Friday night? I’m going to invite him to my place for dinner and tell him then.”

“I think I can manage. Jarvis, inform the necessary people that no one can tell Buckaroo that Steve is the good Captain until at least next Saturday.”

“I’ve just sent them all emails.”

“Thank you Jarvis.”

“Thanks Tony, it means a lot to me.”

“I know. Now tell me about your date.”

————

Today was Bucky’s first day working at Stark Tower. Steve knew that he was going to spend most of the day in Pepper’s office, but he wanted to do something special for him. 

Yesterday, he texted Pepper to ask her what time Bucky would be with her. When she told him, he put his plan into motion. 

Since Bucky was coming in at 9, Steve left at 9:05 to avoid them. He walked as fast as he could over to Deja Brew. He smiled when he saw Darcy behind the counter this time. 

“Hey Steve!” She said excitedly. “Just a warning, Bucky isn’t working here anymore. He got a fancy new job.”

“I know. I actually ran into him after his interview. I work in Stark Tower too.”

“Oh that so cool! Are you two going to get to work together?”

“We might at some point, but we are in different departments.”

“Awesome. So what can I get for you today?”

“That depends. Do you happen to know what Bucky’s favorite drink is?”

“Charlie and the Mocha Factory.”

“Then I’ll have one of those, a Murder on the Orient Espresso, and a Crime and Punish-Mint please.”

“Sure thing.”

Once she finished making the drinks, Darcy handed them over to Steve in a carrier. He noticed that one of the cups had hearts drawn all over it and gave her a look. 

“That one is Bucky’s.”

“Of course it is. Thanks Darcy.”

“No problem. Don’t be a stranger, even if your boyfriend doesn’t work here anymore.”

He rolled his eyes at her, earning him a laugh, and then headed back to the tower. 

Fifteen minutes later, he was in the elevator on his way up to Pepper’s office. He knocked on the door and waited for Pepper to grant him entry. 

“Stevie?” Bucky said, clearly shocked to see him. 

“Stevie?” Pepper mouthed at him with a smile. 

“Hey Buck, Pepper. Since today is your first official day at Stark, I figured I'd surprise you with some coffee. I know how tedious all this can be.” Then he passed the drinks out. “A mint tea for you, Pepper.”

“What, you’re not going to tell me what mine is?” Bucky asked jokingly. 

“Nope. You used to work at the shop. You tell me what I got you.”

“That would explain the hearts on the cup. Was it Darcy?”

“Yup. Now stop stalling and put your barista skills to the test.”

“If I die because Darcy decided to mess with me and make something gross, it’s your fault,” Bucky told him. He hesitantly took a sip of the coffee. Once he realized what it was, he looked up at Steve with a soft smile. “This is my favorite drink from there, you know.”

“I do actually. I asked her what your favorite drink was.”

“Aw, that was really sweet of you Steve,” Pepper said, effectively killing the moment. “As much as I enjoy watching you two make heart eyes at each other, Bucky and I do have work to do.”

“Right. Sorry. Bye Pepper. Bye Buck. See you.”

“Bye Stevie.”

Steve decided to go back to his floor and do some painting. 

When he first got out of the ice, he couldn’t find the motivation to do much of anything. He was seeing a SHIELD approved therapist, who advised him to something that he loved before. He started small. He bought himself a sketchbook and a few different pencils. He would draw the view from his floor, the furniture around the room, his teammates. 

When he started to get back into the swing of things, he went out and bought more art supplies. He got charcoal, pastels, and piles of pastel paper. He bought all of the things that he dreamed of getting when he was younger. He had canvases of every size, at least that he could fit into the room he designated as his studio. He bought the good watercolor, acrylics, and oil paints. He bought the best quality brushes that he could. The shelves of his studio were packed full of everything he could ever need for his work. 

He was in a good mood after seeing Bucky, so he decided to paint something from when he was younger. He chose to paint a portrait of his mother sitting in the park, eating a popsicle. 

When he was a child, his mother barely made enough money for them to get by. Whenever she has a spare nickel, she would give it to Steve to get a sweet treat. 

This particular time, Steve was eight. It was a warm afternoon in June. His mom thought it would be fun for the two of them to go for a walk in the park. While they were walking, they saw a vendor selling ice cream and popsicles. 

Even though he was so young, Steve knew they didn’t have the money to spare on something so frivolous. He was determined to walk past it without even looking at it. His mom had a different idea. She reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled out a nickel. 

“Steven,” she said to him. “Why don’t you go over there and get yourself a treat.”

Steve remembered how shocked he was by this. He remembered how he felt a little dizzy after nodding his head too enthusiastically. He remembered using both hands to clutch the nickel, holding it up to his chest, scared that he would lose it on the way. 

When he got to the front of the line, the vendor asked him what he wanted. Without thinking twice, Steve pointed to the popsicle with two sticks. He handed over his nickel, and the man handed him the popsicle. 

He walked back over to where his mom was, now sitting under a tree. When he got over to where she was, she looked up at him with a smile. 

“What kind of treat did you get love?”

“I got an orange one mama. Can you help me open it?”

“Of course I can. Hand it here,” she said, taking the popsicle from his hand. 

Once he handed it back to him, he put one tiny hand on each of the sticks and pulled them apart. He happily licked his half of the popsicle and handed the other half to his mom. 

“Oh Steven, you don’t have to share your treat with me,” she told him in a soft voice.

“I know mama, but I want to,” he stated matter-of-factly. 

“Well, thank you dear. That was very kind of you. You’re such a sweet boy,” she smiled, eating her half of the popsicle. 

By the time Steve had the basic outline of the painting sketched onto the canvas, he had tears running down his cheeks. He decided that he was at a good stopping point and went to the kitchen to make lunch. 

Along with getting back into art, Steve has taken up cooking since waking up. He figured that now that he could afford food and had the time, he should start teaching himself how to cook. He started off simple, but he learned fast. Last night he made lasagna. Now, he was heating up the rest of it for his lunch. 

Once it was warmed up, he sat on his couch and turned on some children’s cartoons. He ate his lasagna as he finished watching the episode of whatever show he was watching. When he was finished eating, he shot off the tv and cleaned up his dishes. 

He then made his way back into his studio to finish his painting. He lost himself in the painting, doing his best to recreate every detail he remembered from that day. He lost himself in his work. 

He had no idea how long he had been zoned out working, when his phone vibrating in his back pocket pulled him back to reality. When he looked up, he noticed that the sun was starting to set. 

When he pulled his phone out of his pocket, he saw that he had a missed call from Bucky. He immediately pressed call back. 

“Hey Stevie,” Bucky said cheerfully as he answered. 

“Hey Buck. Sorry I missed your call. I was working on a painting. What’s up.”

“Nothing much. I just finished up my first official day as a Stark Industries employee. I’ve spent most of the afternoon playing in his lab. I figured I’d see if you were up for grabbing dinner.”

“Dinner sounds great. Which reminds me, do you want to come for dinner on Friday?” 

“Are you asking me on another date?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I’d love to, Stevie.” 

“Great. Now back to our plans for tonight. What were you thinking?” 

“Chinese take out?” 

“Sounds good to me.”

“Great. Do you want to come over to mine?”

“I’m already home, so why don’t you come here.”

“Sounds great. I’m walking over to the elevator now. Text me your address and I’ll come right over.” 

“Sounds good. See you in a few.”

“See ya.” 

“Jarvis?” Steve asked. 

“James Barnes is already on his way to your floor, if that is what you were about to request.”

“You’re the best Jarvis.”

“It’s what I was created to do sir.”

Steve made his way to the elevator to greet Bucky when he got off. We had just walked into the living room when the doors opened. Bucky looked up from his phone confused. 

“Hey, um, Jarvis? I think you brought me to the wrong place. This looks like someone’s home.”

“And here I was thinking you wanted to come over for dinner,” Steve teased him. 

Bucky whipped his head over to Steve, eyes wide and mouth agape. 

“You live here?” He asked, clearly shocked. 

“Yup.”

“I thought only Tony and the Avengers lived here?” 

Fuck, I should tell him, Steve though to himself. 

“And a few of his close friends. Which is lucky for me in my line of work.”

Idiot. 

“Oh yeah, you’re a spy. I almost forgot.”

“I’m a spy?”

“Yup. You do super classified work for the government. It’s the only rational explanation.”

“Based on the conspiracy theories I’ve heard from you, I question what is classified as rational to you. Now, weren’t we going to order Chinese?”

Bucky perks up at the mention of food, and they place an order. To avoid any questions he doesn’t want to answer, he asks Bucky about his day at work. Bucky immediately starts rambling a bunch of science stuff that Steve doesn’t understand, but he still smiles and nods in all the right places. 

When the food finally arrived, they spread it all out on the coffee table and put on Mulan. Bucky jokingly suggested Hercules, but Steve turned it down immediately. He was still slightly traumatized from their date. 

Bucky made a point to sing along to every song as loudly as he could. When I’ll Make a Man Out of You started, he got up and began to sing to Steve. He even used his chopsticks as a microphone. Steve was definitely planning on drawing that later. 

Once the movie ended, they packed up what was left of the Chinese food and put it in Steve's fridge. 

“So, what was the painting you were working on? If you don’t mind me asking,” Bucky asked when they finished cleaning up. 

“I was working on a portrait of my mom. I can show you if you want.”

“I’d love that Stevie. If the drawing of flowers you gave me is anything to go by, you got some serious art skills.”

When they got into the studio, Bucky’s jaw dropped. He was staring at the unfinished painting sitting on the easel, eyes tearing up. 

“I know it’s not done yet, but I didn’t think it was so bad that it would make someone cry,” Steve joked.

Bucky choked out a laugh and wiped his eyes. 

“It’s beautiful,” he whispered. “She’s beautiful. Why did you pick this scene?”

So Steve told him, leaving out the details that would show his age. He told Bucky all about the day in the park. How special it was for him to get that little treat. By the time he finished, they both had tears running down their faces. 

“So you’ve been a sweetheart since you were little,” Bucky said as Steve moved to wipe the tears off his face. 

“My ma always told me, ‘Steven, we might not have much but kindness is free.’ I’ve tried my best to live by that,” Steve told him, mimicking his mother’s Irish accent when he quoted her.

“Your mom was Irish?”

“Yeah. She came over with my dad when they got engaged. She was 18.”

“She sounds great. I wish I could have met her.”

“She would have loved you.”

Bucky smiled softly, then turned his attention back to the painting. He stared at it for a minute before cocking his head to the side. 

“Huh,” he said. 

“What?” Steve asked.

“Nothing, she just looks kind of familiar. And not because of her resemblance to you. But I feel like I’ve seen her before. What was her name?”

“Sarah. Sarah Rogers.”

“Ha, Steve and Sarah. That’s so…” Bucky trailed off, thinking. Then he looked at Steve, wide eyed. “That’s not possible.”

“What’s not possible?” Steve asked, panic setting in. What could Bucky be thinking. 

“A few weeks ago Becca, my dad, and I were talking about her thesis. She was showing us some pictures she had found in her research. One of them was of Captain America’s mother, who immigrated from Ireland when she was 18. Sarah Rogers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drama!!!!!! 
> 
> I just want to let you all know that I teared up writing the little story about Steve and his mom.... 
> 
> See you all on Saturday!


	4. Iced Captain Americano

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies,
> 
> Sorry, not sorry.
> 
> Xoxo Kit

Steve just stared at Bucky. He didn’t know what to say. How was he supposed to react to that? 

“Steve. Tell me I’m crazy. Tell me I’m reading too much into it. Tell me that it is pure coincidence that your mom has the same name as his,” Bucky said, his voice raising slightly the more he spoke. 

“Buck, I…” Steve said. He couldn’t think of anything to say. 

“Holy shit. How the fuck did I not realize that your name was Steve Rogers. Like that Stevs Rogers.”

“I…” 

“What? Are you going to tell me that I’m way off base here? Because I’m starting to think I’m right,” he said as he started pacing the studio. 

“I didn't want…” 

“You didn’t want what? To tell me?” Then he looked at Steve in horror. “Shit. I told you about my massive childhood crush on you. I told you my ridiculous theory that you were still alive. And I was fucking right. No wonder you weren’t going to tell me. What were you going to do, say the first date was fun but we’d be better off friends? Would you pretend to talk to me for a little while after, but then just stop. Was that your plan?”

“Buck,” Steve said, reaching out to Bucky.

Bucky slapped his hand away and started walking out of the room. 

“Buck please,” Steve begged. 

“I need to go,” Bucky said as he walked towards the elevator. “I need to process all of this. And don’t worry. Pepper had me sign a bunch of NDAs, so I won’t tell anyone your little secret,” he spat. Then he turned back to Steve one last time. “You asked her to make me sign those didn’t you? In case your little secret got out.”

The elevator doors opened, and Bucky walked in. 

The second the doors closed, Steve collapsed onto the couch. He curled up into himself, finally letting out the tears that were threatening to spill. 

He didn’t know how long he was laying there. He must have fallen asleep at some point, because the next thing he knew it was light out and the room smelled like bacon. 

He wiped the gunk out of his eyes and looked over to the kitchen. Clint was cooking bacon, talking to Natasha who was sitting on the counter. He numbly dragged himself to the kitchen, praying that Clint made coffee. 

Thankfully, there was a half full pot. Steve grabbed the biggest mug he could find and filled it to the brim. He took a big sip before turning to face his intruders. 

“Why are you here?” He asked, Not in the mood for pleasantries. 

“Good morning to you, too sunshine,” Nat said sarcastically.

“I repeat, why are you here.”

“Jarvis told me to come check up on you. Clint wanted to steal your coffee and food”

“Good to know my house is spying on me.” Steve made a point to raise his voice at the last few words. 

“My apologies sir, but after what occurred last night I sensed you needed a friend. You typically go to Miss Romanov when you do,” Jarvis stated. 

“What happened last night?” Natasha asked. 

“What? The asshole spying robot in my ceiling didn’t tell you?”

“No sir, I figured I would leave that part up to you.”

“Thank you Jarvis. How kind of you,” Steven said sarcastically. He took another large sip of his coffee, then turned his attention back to his friends. “We’re not talking about it.”

“Steve.”

“Nat.”

“Jarvis was concerned enough to send me to check on you. What happened.”

“Bucky.”

“What the hell is a Bucky?” Clint asked, finally joining the conversation. 

“The barista,” Nat told him. 

“Who names their daughter Bucky? Or is it a nickname? What the hell would it be short for?” He mused, mostly to himself. 

“Bucky is a man,” Steve told him.

“I’m sorry, what? Is Captain America even allowed to be gay?”

“Captain America can go fuck himself,” Steve growled. 

“Woah. Sorry man. I didn’t mean to strike a nerve,” Clint apologized.

“So you told him?” Natasha asked gently. 

“Nope.”

“Then what happened?”

“He figured it out.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah. I fucking panicked and I couldn’t even think of what to say. I was planning on telling him on Friday. I was going to invite him over, cook dinner and then break it to him gently.”

“Did he at least tell you how he found out?” Clint asked hesitantly. 

“His dad is a history buff and his sister is writing her senior thesis on me at NYU. Apparently a few weeks ago she was showing him pictures she found, specifically one of my mom.” 

“That explains it,” Natasha deadpanned. 

“He called last night when he finished work and asked if I wanted to come over for dinner. I told him I was already home and working on a painting, so he came here instead. After we ate, he asked if he could see the painting it did. It was a portrait of my mom. It took him a few minutes to realize, but when he did he freaked out a little. He accused me of deliberately not telling him.”

“I’m sorry Steve. Hopefully he comes around,” Natasha said, putting a hand on his shoulder. 

“I’m not going to get my hopes up. Now can we not talk about this.”

“Sure thing buddy. Breakfast is done anyway. Let’s eat,” Clint said as he brought the food over to the kitchen table. 

The three of them sat around the table and ate. Clint and Natasha kept up a steady stream of conversation. Steve would occasionally smile and nod to show he was somewhat paying attention. He knew they were trying to keep his mind off Bucky, and he appreciated it, but he also wanted to wallow in self pity for a while. 

Once they finished eating, Clint and Natasha helped Steve clean up the kitchen. The pair offered to stay with him longer, but Steve declined. He told them that he just wanted to be alone for a while. As they left, Clint gave him a pat on the shoulder and Natasha pulled him into a hug. 

When he was finally alone, Steve made his way to his studio. His heart ached as he looked at the portrait of his mother. He gingerly took it off the easel, and placed it off to the side. He would finish it another day. Today, he needed to paint his misery. 

Like the day before, he spent hours hunched over the canvas. He didn't even realize what he was painting until he had finished. It was another memory from his time before he went under. It was a battle that he had lost in Germany. 

It took place somewhere in the Black Forest. It was a miserable and rainy night. The ground was muddy from both the rain and the blood that was spilled. In the mud, laid the bodies of the men who had lost their lives that day. The wounded were being treated by medics. Then there was the Captain. He painted him off to the side, almost hiding in the shadows as he watched the scene unfold. His expression was cold, completely void of emotion. The branches and shadows near his body made it look as if he had horns and a tail. He was the one who led his men there. He was the reason that so many good men lost their lives. He was the reason that his relationship with Bucky ended before it even started. 

Steve was brought back to reality when someone started shouting somewhere in his apartment. 

“What the hell did you do to my new engineer,” he heard Tony shouting. “Jarvis, where is Steve hiding? I need to yell at him to his face, not just into the void.”

“ Captain Rogers is in his studio,” The A.I. told him. 

“Stupid spying ceiling robot,” Steve mumbled to himself. 

The door to his studio flew open. Tony opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. Steve followed his line of sight to the painting. 

“If I knew a painting was all it would take to shut you up, I would have done it months ago,” Steve half-heartedly joked. 

“You might want to see a therapist if this is what you’re painting,” Tony said, still staring at the painting in shock. 

“I have a therapist. She’s the one who told me to paint. I felt awful, I painted something awful. Simple as that. Now, why are you bothering me?”

“What? Oh, right,” Tony said, getting himself together. “You broke my new engineer.”

“What makes you think I had something to do with it?”

“I sent Happy on a coffee run.”

“Not seeing how this is my fault.”

“I sent him to Deja Brew.”

“Get to the fucking point Stark. I’m not in the mood.”

“Ithoughtitwouldbefunnytogethimanicedcaptainamericano.”

“One more time? Slower.”

“I thought it would be funny to get him an iced Captain Americano, because, ya know, you two are dating but he doesn’t know you’re Cap. He took one look at it, walked over to the nearest trash can, and threw it away. When I asked him why he did that, he said ‘I want nothing to do with that asshole.’ Hence, your fault.”

“He figured it out before I had the chance to tell him. I panicked. He stormed out before I could get myself together long enough to string together a coherent sentence. He has every right to hate me.”

Tony pulled out his phone and began typing. After a minute, he put it away and looked at Steve expectantly. 

“What?”

“Look at your phone.”

Steve did as instructed and pulled his phone out of his pocket. There was a text from Tony, as expected. The message contained an address. The address he dropped Bucky off to after their date on Saturday, to be specific. 

“Why did you send me Bucky’s address.” He asked. 

“So that you can go fix this. Or at least try to.” 

“I wanted to give him time.”

“And I want him on the top of his game. If you don’t go on your own, I will put on the suit and fly you over there.” 

“Fine. I’m going.”

“Great.” 

Steve and Tony walked to the elevator together. The elevator made it way down, first to Tony’s lab and then to the ground floor. 

Steve spent the whole trip to Bucky’s apartment trying to figure out what to say. By the time he was a block away, he had a pretty good idea of what he was going to say. Now he just had to hope he would be let through the front door. 

He pressed the buzzer for Bucky’s apartment and prayed.

“Hello?” Bucky said through the speaker. 

“It’s Steve. I was…”

“Go away Steve,” Bucky said, hanging up. 

Steve pressed the buzzer again. 

“Please, leave me the hell alone,” Bucky said through gritted teeth. 

“Bucky, I just want to explain myself. If you still hate me afterwards, I’ll leave you alone.”

“No, and if you press that buzzer again I will call the cops,” Bucky threatened before he hung up again. 

Steve stared at the door for a minute. Once he managed to tear his eyes away from it, he walked back in the direction of the tower. 

He knew he shouldn’t have listened to Tony. He should have stuck to his guns and waited a few days before trying to reach out to Bucky. The fact that he went to his apartment probably made things worse. 

As he was walking, he saw a liquor store. Without thinking, he walked in. He gave the cashier a nod, then walked over to the vodka. He grabbed three bottles of the cheapest on the shelf. The cashier gave him a weird look when he placed the bottles down, but he didn’t make a comment. 

When Steve got back to his floor, he walked into the kitchen and opened one of the bottles. He took a long pull of it, draining nearly a third of it. 

A common misconception about the serum is that he can’t get drunk. He can. He just metabolizes the alcohol faster than a normal human, so he has to drink more in a shorter period of time. Hence, three bottles of cheap vodka. 

By the time he finished off the first bottle, he was somewhere slightly past buzzed. The second one was drained as quickly as the first. The third bottle came and went, just like the first two. 

His vision started to blur. He was swaying on his feet. He knew if he tried to do anywhere he would stumble. He also knew he only had about twenty minutes before he was sober again. 

Against better judgment, Steve decided to take the empty bottles to the recycling bin. Predictably, he stumbled the moment he decided to move. The bottles tumbled out of his arms, smashing on the hardwood floor. Steve wasn’t far behind them. 

He stuck out his palms in an attempt to stop himself from falling. Instead, he got shards of vodka coated glass stuck through his palms and shins. He rolled over into his back, getting a few more pieces of glass embedded into his skin. 

“Fucking shit,” he slurred, wiping a now bloody palm across his face. “Fuck!”

“Captain Rogers, I’ve contacted Mr.Stark to come check on you,” Jarvis informed him.

“Fuck you Jarvis. I know you’re a robot, but clearly I just want to lay on the floor and wallow in my misery.”

“I assumed so based on the amount of alcohol you consumed, but given the extent of your injuries I found it to be necessary.”

Steve stared up at the ceiling, praying that Tony was too busy with something to come and check on him. He wanted to prolong his suffering as much as he could. He deserved it. 

“Steven, why did Jarvis just tell me you were lying on the…” Tony trailed off as he entered the kitchen. He looked down at Steve with a mix of shock and horror. “Shit, Jarvis, call Clint. I’m going to need help getting him to medical.”

“As you wish sir.” 

“Don’t fucking do it Jarvis. I don’t need to go to medical. I’m fine,” Steve slurred. 

“Really?” Tony asked. “Then stand up.”

“Fine,” Steve grumbled. He put his palms to the ground to lift himself up. Pain shot through his body as he pushed up from the floor. The glass shards in his palms further embedded themselves with the pressure he was putting on his hands. His vision blurred. 

The next thing he knew, there were two pairs of hands hoisting him up off the ground and three sets of eyes on him with varying degrees of concern. 

Of the three, Natasha was the most subtle. To someone who didn’t know her well, she wasn’t visibly reacting. She seemed to be staring blankly with her hand on her hips. If you did know her, you would notice that her eyes were widened with shock. She was putting more pressure on one foot, ready to spring into action if she was needed. 

Clint was more obvious than her. He openly wore his concern on his face. It would be clear to anyone watching that he was concerned about the state he found his friend in. He was holding up as much of Steve’s weight as he could, trying to duck inter Steve’s arm to better support and move him. He looked like he knew how to handle a situation like this. 

Tony was the most reactive. His eyes were wide with panic. He let off the vibe of someone who had absolutely no idea how to handle the situation that they were in. He was trying his best to help Clint get Steve stabilized, but he likely would have done better if he switched positions with Natasha. 

When the two of them finally had Steve upright, Natasha guided them to the elevator. Steve knew they were talking, but all of their voices blended together. He was able to make out a few words, like blood, glass, and Banner, but everything else was a blur. 

He didn’t know how long they were in the elevator or when they had managed to get him to medical. The next thing Steve knew, he was lying in a bed with an IV stuck in his arm and an annoying beeping noise. There were voices mumbling around him, trying to keep a low volume to avoid disturbing him. 

After a few minutes, Steve felt coherent enough to let them know he was awake. He opened his eyes fully and looked around the room. 

Clint and Natasha were sitting to his left in two of the chairs set up in the room, talking quietly amongst themselves. Dr. Banner was to his right, talking calmly to a pacing Tony. Natasha was the first to notice he was awake. 

“Morning sleeping beauty,” she said uncharacteristically softly. 

“Oh thank god you’re awake,” Tony squawked. He bolted over to Steve’s side, then began pelting him with questions. “What the hell was that, Steve? Why was your floor covered in broken glass? Why were you lying in it? Why were you so out of it? Were you drugged? Were you poisoned? How the hell would that even happen? How did…”

“Tony,” Bruce cut him off. “Give him some space. He just woke up.”

“Right, sorry. I was just worried. Not because I care about you though. I just didn’t want to explain to Fury why there was a dead Captain America in my tower.”

Natasha rolled her eyes, then asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine. That’s why I was on my floor and covered in glass,” he retorted. 

She gave him a stern look, raising one eyebrow to express her distaste with us response. 

“Sorry. I just had a rough night.”

“Clearly,” Clint chimed in. “I mean, I’ve had some pretty bad nights. I might have fallen asleep in a dumpster or two, but I’ve never been that bad.”

“I do have a question, if you’re up for it Captain,” Bruce promoted. 

“Ask away. I can’t guarantee I’ll answer.”

“It’s more about the serum than why you were in that state. When we ran blood tests, your blood alcohol level came back at 0.22. I thought you couldn’t get drunk with the serum.”

“I can. I just need to drink a lot more a lot faster.”

“That would explain the bottles,” Natasha sumized. 

“So, why were you that drunk last night?” Tony asked. 

“That would be your fault,” Steve informed him. 

“My fault? How exactly?”

“Hmm, lets see. ‘You broke my engineer Steve. Go fix it Steve. I don't care that you want to give him time.’ Ringing any bells?”

“It couldn’t have gone that bad.” 

“He threatened to call the cops on me. I’d say it went pretty bad.” 

“Shit. But also, you only went on one date with the guy. How attached could you have been to him?”

“One date that stemmed from six months of flirting.”

“Okay, so you had a little crush before you asked him out. It’s okay. You’ll get over it.”

“I actually don’t think he will,” Bruce disagreed. “When Steve received the serum, it seemed to amplify everything. His height, physical strength, stamina, speed. It was reported that his memory became even better. Every aspect of him grew stronger. It’s likely that his emotions were affected as well. It would explain why he had such a visceral reaction to the rejection.” 

“All I’m getting out of this is that not only has Captain America made my life worse, but he’s also made it so that I will feel the effects more. Great. Any other ways he’s going to fuck up my life?” Steve asked rhetorically. 

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news Captain, but we have a problem.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah miscommunication, one of my favorite fan fiction tropes.  
> Pretty please don’t hate me! I tried to write them making up immediately, but it wasn’t as fun. So now we have some hardcore angst. Luckily for all of you, this cliffhanger will be resolved on Sunday!  
> I hope that makes this slightly better.  
> Also please note that like half of this was written after midnight and I never proofread....


	5. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Chai

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies, 
> 
> Remember when I said I was going to update Saturday and Sunday. Turns out I’m a god damn liar, because I only posted on Saturday last week. In my defense, I’m in college. Lucky for you guys, I will be posting tomorrow! Hope you enjoy! 
> 
> Xoxo Kit 
> 
> P.s. I didn’t proof read.......

I hate to be the bearer of bad news Captain, but we have a problem.” 

“Fury? What are you doing here?” Tony asked. 

“There is something I need to discuss with the Captain. Preferably alone.”

“I know you’re saying that to make it look like we have a choice, but I know it’s a demand,” Tony said as he sauntered out of the room. Bruce, Natasha, and Clint made their way out after him, each looking at Fury with varying degrees of concern.

Fury made his way over to the chairs that were previously occupied by Clint and Natasha. He sat down in the chair closest to Steve, looking him over for a minute before speaking. 

“How are you feeling Captain?” He asked, seeming to genuinely care. 

“Wonderful. Tony ruined my love life,” Steve responded sarcastically. “So, what were you going to tell me to make things worse?”

“I’m more interested in how Tony ruined your love life. Care to give me the highlights?” 

“I asked out the person I’d been crushing on for a while. Said person managed to figure out that I was not only the current asshole running around in the Stars and Stripes, but I’m the one who did it in the 40’s as well. They freaked out. Tony told me to go there and fix it the next day. Threats of calling the cops were made. Here we are.”

“Does this person have a name?”

“Bucky. He’s Tony’s new engineer. According to the tin man himself, Bucky is on the list of people you approved to know. Why?”

“Because last night someone leaked to the press that you were still alive.”

“What?” 

“The world knows that you’re still alive. There wasn’t much detail on how you managed to stay alive, but there was proof that it’s you.”

“What do you mean proof?”

“There were pictures of you leaving a coffee shop called Deja Brew. The person who leaked the information also pointed out that your fighting style hasn’t changed since the 40’s. The only thing they got wrong was thinking you’ve been alive the whole time.” 

Steve felt lightheaded. He could feel his heart beating faster and the heart rate monitor beeping in time with it. There was no way that what Fury was saying was true. There was no way in hell that Bucky would do this to him. Yes, he was mad at Steve, but he wouldn’t stoop that low. 

“Bucky is your top suspect, isn’t he?” Steve choked out. 

“He’s SHIELD’s number one suspect, yes. Mine, no.”

“What?” Steve gaped. 

“It seems too perfect. If I were a betting man, I’d say someone waited for someone outside of SHIELD and the Avengers to find out.”

“So what’s going to happen to Bucky?” 

“SHIELD wants to take him into custody to interrogate him.”

“Is there any way to prevent that from happening?” 

“I’m glad you asked,” Fury smirked. “As long as Barnes stays on the restricted floors of the tower, no one from SHIELD can take him. They have no concrete evidence, so they can’t get a warrant to access those floors. But they could take him from anywhere else. Stark has him in the lab now and sent Happy to get Barnes’s stuff from his apartment.”

“So he’s going to be safe staying in the tower?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” 

“I’m glad you are happy with that decision Captain. Especially considering he’s going to be sharing your floor for the foreseeable future.”

“He’s going to what?” Steve asked, eyes widening. “Did you miss the part where I told you he wants nothing to do with me, or did you just elect to ignore it?”

“Oh I heard that part,” Fury said as he got out of his chair, making his way towards the door. “But Barnes said he gets enough of Stark at work. You’re the only other person he knows here. I hope you two can make this situation work.” With that, Fury exited the room, leaving Steve alone with his thoughts. 

Steve wasn’t entirely sure what to think about the situation. If he were an optimist, he would be excited by this. He would be able to talk things out with Bucky. He would have the chance to properly explain his side of the story. Sure, it might take Bucky a while to be okay with things, but eventually he would be understanding. He would even forgive Steve and they could go back to dating. 

If Steve were a pessimist, this would be the worst possible thing to happen. Bucky would do everything in his power to avoid Steve. If Steve entered a room, Bucky would leave. If Steve tried to talk, Bucky would tell him to shut up. Bucky would turn into another Stark, spending as much time as he could in the lab and avoiding human contact. It would make him hate Steve more than he already does. 

In actuality, Steve isn’t getting his hopes up. He knows that things will be weird for a while. He hoped that after a few days Bucky would be willing to talk. Eventually, Bucky would be able to forgive him and they could become friends. Steve would always want more, but he would accept it is Bucky wanted them to remain friends. 

He’s going to prepare himself for the worst case scenario though. If everything goes to shit, he can say he knew it. If things go well, he can be happy that things went better than he thought they would. 

After a few more minutes of running through possible scenarios, Bruce came back into the room. He checked over Steve quickly to assess his injuries. All that was left were hardly visible scars. Bruce took out his ivs, and Steve was on his way to his floor. 

When Steve got up to his floor, Bucky was already there. He was going through boxes, presumably the things that Happy had brought over from his apartment. 

Bucky stiffened when he sensed Steve’s presence in the living room. He turned to face him, trying to look indifferent. 

“Steve,” he said, monotonously. 

“Bucky,” Steve replied, emotion clear in his voice. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I’m so sorry about every….”

“Don’t,” Bucky cut him off. “I’m still pissed as hell at you. I only chose to stay on your floor because Stark would drive me insane and I don’t trust anyone else here. And note, I use the word trust very loosely with you.”

“I completely understand. I know I lied to you, and I’m kind of the reason you are in this situation. The floor is big enough that we can avoid each other until you decide you want to interact with me, if you ever decide you want to. You’d be justified if you didn’t. Until then, I’ll keep my distance.” 

“Hopefully not too far,” Bucky said, lips twitching as if repressing a smile. 

Steve gave him a shy smile in return. “Oh, I was going to make a pot of coffee. You want a cup?” 

“Sure, coffee sounds great.”

“Great.”

Steve made his way to the kitchen to get started on the coffee. When he stepped into the kitchen, he saw the remnants of his breakdown last night. There were shards of glass all over the place. There was blood smeared all over the tile. It looked like someone had been murdered. 

“Jarvis, make sure Bucky can’t hear the conversation we are about to have,” Steve whispered.

Steve felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it out to see that Jarvis was calling him. Well, technically, the call was from ‘asshole ceiling robot.’

“Mr. Barnes is too close to have a private conversation. What seems to be the problem, Captain?” The A.I. asked through the phone. 

“My kitchen looks like someone was murdered in it. Why does it still look like that? I figured Tony would have sent someone to come clean it up, especially knowing Bucky was going to be moving in.” 

“Sir was distracted. First, attending to you. Then, dealing with the media and trying to get the revelation of your identity under control. Plus, trying to keep SHIELD away from Mr. Barnes.”

“And you didn’t think to send someone? Artificial intelligence my ass. I guess I have to deal with this myself,” Steve grumbled. Then he hung up, not allowing Jarvis to respond. 

“What do you have to deal with yourself now?” Bucky asked, appearing out of nowhere. Thankfully he was on the other side of the counter, unable to see the mess on the floor. 

“Shit,” Steve said, startled. “What? Oh, it’s nothing. I can handle it. Nothing for you to worry about.”

“Are you lying to me?” Bucky asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“No?” Steve answered unconvincingly. 

Bucky stared blankly at Steve.

“I’m not really lying, I don’t think. There was just this thing that happened last night. It’s nothing I can’t handle on my own. You don’t have to concern yourself with it. Really,” Steve stumbled out. 

“Mhm, yeah I’m going to come back there and help you.” Bucky started to walk around the counter. 

“No,” Steve tried to stop him. “There is broken glass all over the floor. From last night. That’s the thing I have to deal with.”

“Steve, I can help you clean up some broken glass. Helping will actually make me feel like I’m earning my keep.” 

Bucky made his way to the side of the counter that Steve was on. When he looked down at the floor, he froze as the sight. 

“Steve, is that blood all over the floor?”

“My instinct is to lie and tell you it’s marinara sauce, but it’s not.”

“Who’s blood is it?”

“Mine,” Steve said sheepishly. “Does that make it better or worse?”

“I’m not sure. Why is your kitchen covered in your blood?”

“I, um, I went to throw away a few glass bottles and tripped. The glass shattered and I fell on top of it.”

“Oh. Where is your broom? We should probably sweep up the glass before scrubbing the floor.”

“The broom is in the closet in the living room, Mr. Barnes,” Jarvis told him.

“Thanks, J,” Bucky said as he made his way to the closet. 

“Wait, hold up. You’re friends with the asshole ceiling robot?” 

Bucky stopped halfway back to the kitchen. 

“I’m sorry, the what?” 

“Asshole ceiling robot.” 

Bucky burst into laughter. He bent over, using the broom handle for support. When he finally straightened, he had to wipe tears from his eyes. 

“Oh my god. That’s the best thing I’ve heard all day,” Bucky chuckled. “Thank you for that, Stevie.” 

Steve couldn’t help but smile. He wasn’t entirely sure why Bucky was laughing, but he was and that’s what mattered. Also, Bucky had called him ‘Stevie,’ so he was counting this as a win. 

“I mean, I’m not wrong,” Steve tried to defend himself. “Jarvis’s speakers are in the ceiling, A.I. is basically just a robot without a body, and he’s a dick.” 

“This keeps getting better,” Bucky barked out another laugh. “Seriously Stevie, my day has been so shitty. Thank you for this. Now let’s get this kitchen cleaned up. The sooner we do that, the sooner I get the cup of coffee I was promised.”

Steve took the broom from Bucky and started sweeping up the glass. While he was sweeping, he told Bucky to get the mop and the cleaning products under the sink. Bucky had finished mixing the cleaning products with some water in the mop bucket by the time Steve had swept all the glass into the dustpan. 

Despite Steve's protests, Bucky insisted on doing the mopping. So as not to feel useless, Steve started making their coffee. When it was brewed, he poured it into two mugs, leaving enough room for milk and sugar if Bucky so desired. 

Steve set the coffees down on the drink room table just as Bucky finished with the mopping. The pair sat down across from each other, Bucky adding milk and a hefty about of sugar to his coffee. 

Steve looked at him with an eyebrow raised. 

“What? I like sugar,” Bucky said defensively. 

“I didn’t say anything,” Steve replied, taking a sip of his coffee. 

“You didn’t have to. I could hear you thinking it.” 

They sat in a slightly uncomfortable silence as they drank their coffee. Steve wanted to break it, but wasn’t sure how to. In the end, it was Bucky who broke the silence. 

“I’m sorry about the last couple of days. I might have overreacted a little.” 

“I don’t blame you. I lied to you. You had every right to be upset.” 

“I’m still sorry for being a jerk.”

It’s okay. Plus, you being a jerk is part of why I like you,” Steve smirked. 

“You’re such a fucking punk,” Bucky teased. “So, um, is it too soon to ask you a bunch of questions?” 

“About what? Captain America?” Steve asked him, smile dropping from his face. 

“Oh, no! No, I don’t care about that. I mean, I do, cuz it’s a part of who you are and everything, but that’s not what I was going to ask about. I wanted to know more about how you are adjusting to the new century and how you’re dealing with the world finding out you're still alive. Which I didn’t leak.”

“I know you didn’t. Fury thinks it’s someone from SHIELD, and I agree with him. As for how I’m dealing with this, I haven’t really had time to process it. Fury told me and then I came right up here.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. I have no idea what’s going to happen. I wouldn’t be shocked if I had to release a statement or something. Pepper will probably show up at some point to talk about it. So, what were the other questions that you wanted to ask?”

Bucky immediately dove in to asking Steve questions about his experiences in the twenty first century. Steve was happy to tell him as much as he could. He told Bucky about how when he first woke up, he knew something was wrong. The baseball game playing on the radio was one he had gone to a few years before. The agent they had posing as a nurse didn’t have the right silhouette. 

Bucky asked how he was dealing with all of the new technology. Steve laughed at that. Steve told him that he adapted quickly. He had no problem with the new tech, Jarvis excluded, but his team still treated him like he was in his nineties. He told him that he first wandered into Deja Brew because he was running away from Tony trying to explain how a tv worked. 

They laughed at stories about Clint trying to explain electricity to him as if he hadn’t grown up with it. Bucky was not at all surprised that Natasha was the first one to figure out he was smarter than he let on. 

They spent the next two hours talking about everything that popped into their heads, movies, tv shows, music, et cetera. Bucky was surprised by Steve's knowledge of pop culture, learning that he spent a lot of his time trying to get with the times. He even gave Steve a few suggestions for his list that he hadn’t added yet. 

The talking didn’t stop until the elevator doors opened and Pepper stepped out. 

“I’m glad to see you two are getting along so well. Tony said he was worried after last night, but it seems that things have worked out to a point,” she said as she saw them sitting together. 

Instead of addressing Pepper, Bucky turned to Steve. 

“You told Tony about what happened?” 

“Not willingly. There is a reason the ceiling robot is called an asshole. Plus, Tony is the one who told me to go to your place last night. I was going to wait a few days.” 

“I can’t believe you took advice from Tony,” Pepper cut in. 

“It was more like a threat. He said if I didn’t go on my own, he would put on the suit and fly me there. I figured the first was the better of the two options,” Steve defended. 

“I disagree,” Bucky added. “It would have been hysterical to see Tony flying you around.” 

“Thanks Buck,” he deadpanned. Then he turned to Pepper. “So what brings you down here?” 

“I wanted to talk to you about possible ways to go about addressing the fact that you’re still alive,” she told him. “I wanted to give you both some time to get settled before I came to speak to you about it.” 

“Well,” Bucky said, “I still have some unpacking to do. I’ll be in my bedroom if you guys need me.” With that, Bucky made his way towards his bedroom. 

“So Steve,” Pepper began, “What do you think is the best course of action here? I want your thoughts.” 

“Honestly, I’m not sure. Back in the day, we probably would have done a press conference. A few big newspapers would have sent their best reporters to New York and we would have spoken in a room with no cameras, just pens and paper. I assume that wouldn’t happen these days.” 

“Sadly, it would not. Would you like to hold a press conference? Or would you prefer to do individual interviews? You could choose from new shows, late night tv hosts, or a combination of the two.” 

“The late night tv could be fun. I also think that speaking with major news networks would be good. I don’t know what I would say though.”

“You wouldn’t have to worry about that. I would make sure that everyone ran their questions by me first so that you knew what talking points to prepare. Anyone who doesn’t comply would face the wrath of Stark Industries.”

“All right. I like the sound of that.”

“Wonderful. Many networks have already reached out and told the soonest they would be able to have you on their shows.” Pepper pulled out her StarkPad to look at the calendar she put together with all the suggested dates and times. “It looks like the first interview you could do is tomorrow morning at nine a.m. with Fox News.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gasp!   
> Fox News!   
> How could this go wrong?   
> *Evil laugh*


	6. Sweet Française

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey lovelies, 
> 
> Look at that, I actually posted like promised! I feel accomplished. Please note, that I wrote the outline for the interview dialogue while drunk, because it’s suuuper fun to write liberal Steve vs Bigot like that.   
> Happy Easter!
> 
> Xoxo Kit

You’re doing an interview with Fox News?” Bucky asked incredulously. 

“Yeah. Why, should I not have agreed to talk to a bunch of racist assholes? I mean, it’s not like they are going to make assumptions about me based on the stereotypes of the time I was born, right? It’s not like the whole reason I agreed to do this interview was to prove they are awful. That would be deceitful. I’m Captain America, the poster child for having a moral compass. How dare you accuse me of such a thing,” Steve said with a devilish smirk. 

“Steve Rogers, you are such a little shit,” Bucky laughed. “I knew there was a reason I liked you.” 

“Oh, you like me?” 

“Not anymore I don’t,” Bucky stuck out his tongue. 

Steve mimicked the action in retaliation. 

“But seriously. We should probably talk about where our relationship stands. We started to talk earlier, but never really got into it,” Bucky said nervously. 

“Yeah, we probably should.”

“I guess I’ll start. I sort of overreacted on Monday. I haven’t had the best luck with the guys I’ve dated in the past. I’m so used to being lied to by my partners. When I met you, something felt different. I felt like maybe I could actually be in a healthy relationship, but then I found out about the Cap thing and freaked. All I could think about in the moment was that of course you would lie to me about who you are. Everyone else has. So I freaked out on you and left before you made it worse. And me telling you this isn’t me trying to excuse my behavior, I’m just explaining what was going through my head at the time. When you came to my place last night, I was more mad at myself than you. I knew I reacted poorly, so I took it out on you.”

“You know, I planned on telling you that week,” Steve told him honestly. 

“Really?” Bucky asked hopefully. 

“Yeah. After our date on Saturday I spoke to Tony. I wanted to know in what capacity you would be working with the team. When he told me you would end up working with us, I asked him to hold off telling you. I wanted to be the one to do it. You can ask him if you want. He knew my whole plan. That’s why I asked you over for dinner on Friday. I was going to cook us a nice dinner, maybe have a glass of wine or two. Then I was going to sit you down and tell you about how I was actually Captain America. I figured you might freak out a bit, so I planned to give you the weekend to process if you needed it. You coming over on Monday and figuring it out for yourself kinda threw a wrench in my plan.” 

“I probably still would have freaked out a bit. But I do think that plan would have been much better than me figuring it out. Now, the big question is, what do you want our relationship to be?”

“I want whatever you want, Buck,” Steve said earnestly. 

“Seriously?” 

“Seriously. If you want to be just friends, I’m okay with that. If you want to pursue a romantic relationship, I’m okay with that as well. I’m very much okay with that, in all honesty. I want to be a part of your life in whatever capacity you want me in it.”

“What if I never want to speak to you again?” 

“I wouldn’t be happy about it, but I would respect your choice. If that’s what you want.”

“It’s not. I want a romantic relationship with you. But, maybe we could take it slow?”

“Absolutely.”

————

“Captain Rogers, I’m sorry to interrupt your breakfast, but Ms. Potts is on her way down to pick you up for your interview,” Jarvis alerted him. 

“You’re not sorry. You’re not capable of feeling things,” Steve muttered. 

“Yeah, stupid ceiling robot,” Bucky said, mocking Steve’s tone. 

“Jerk.” 

“Punk.” 

“I thought you two were getting along now,” Pepper said as she walked off the elevator. 

“Yeah, Jarvis told me you two were making quite the ruckus last night. Wink, wink,” Tony added, stepping off behind her. 

“I did no such thing, Sir,” Jarvis said in his defense. 

Tony pouted when his A.I. disagreed with his story. Pepper just rolled her eyes, as if this was normal. Steve assumes it was. 

“So Captain, are you ready for your first interview?” Pepper asked. 

“Yes. I think. I’m a little nervous, but I think I can get through this.” 

“Wonderful. Let’s head over to the studio then.” 

Due to the early hour, it didn’t take long for Steve and Pepper to arrive at the studio. Upon arrival, Pepper went to speak with the show's host while Steve was dragged off to hair and makeup. 

After an hour of poking and prodding at his head, they decided he looked good enough. He was led to the stage so that he could meet the man who was to be interviewing him. 

As expected, the man who was going to interview him was old and white. He greeted Steve pleasantly enough, but he knew the interview would take a turn. Steve was planning on derailing it as quickly as he could. 

Someone told them that it was nearly time to go on air, so Steve and his interviewer took their seats. 

“Good morning and welcome back. I’m sitting here with Captain Steve Rogers, better known as Captain America. How are you this morning, Captain?” The interview asked. 

“I’m doing well, thank you,” Steve answered amicably. He knew he had to start off well. 

“I think the number one thing on everyone’s mind is, how are you adjusting to the new century?”

“Well, things aren't so bad. Food's a lot better; we used to boil everything. No polio is good. Internet, so helpful. I've been reading that a lot trying to catch up. I’ll admit, it was a little strange to wake up seventy years in the future though.” 

“What would you say was the most challenging thing for you to adjust to?”

“Honestly, I like to think I adjusted pretty quickly. People have a tendency to treat me like a ninety four year old, instead of a twenty seven year old. The new technology was pretty easy to get accustomed to. I do have an eidetic memory.” 

“Well, I’m glad to hear that. Is there anything that you miss from before?” 

“Mostly just the friends I had made. The only family I had were my mom and dad, and they both passed before I became Captain America. When I joined the army, the Howling Commandos became my family. Most of them passed away before I came out of the ice.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that. How has your time with the Avengers compared to your time with the Commandos?” 

“For starters, the woman on our team is actually allowed to fight with us. Peggy, I mean, Agent Carter wasn’t allowed to be on the front lines with us because she was a woman. I’m so glad that Black Widow has the opportunity to fight alongside us.”

“I was planning on asking about your relationship with Agent Carter. You two are one of the greatest love stories of the twentieth century.” 

“Really?” Steve chuckled. “We were never romantically involved. I did look up to her. I made sure to tell anyone who would listen that the war would have ended in a week is Dr. Erskine gave the serum to Peggy instread. She’s the one who taught me everything I know. My entire fighting style is based on hers. And dumb luck. There is a lot of that involved.”

“I find that hard to believe,” the interview said incredulously. 

“Well, believe it. Peggy Carter trained me how to fight. Every time I was in battle I would think to myself, ‘what would Peggy do?’”

The interview began to look flustered. He was clearly trying to get Steve to stop talking about Peggy, but Steve wasn’t going to lie. Peggy Carter was one of the best soldiers he worked with. He wanted to be just like her. He wasn’t going to say something else to please a misogynist interviewer.

“You said that you have been catching up on historical events that you missed. What have you found to be the most interesting?” 

“The Vietnam War.” 

“Care to elaborate?” 

“I have a lot of issues with it. I mean, it’s basically just American imperialism. I read the great novel called ‘The Ugly American’ that was published a few years before the war that I think sums it up perfectly. The American Government went into Vietnam and did whatever they wanted. They ignored that the Vietnamese people needed, and they just did whatever they could to further their political agenda.”

The interview looked at Steve, clearly thrown off by this answer. He quickly regained his composure before continuing. 

“Well, they did that so they could stop the spread of communism.”

“Would now be a bad time to mention that I was part of the socialist party back in the day?” Steve asked, knowing what kind of reaction he would receive. 

“You were a socialist?” He managed to choke out. 

“I still am. I mean, my mother was a poor immigrant who had to work herself quite literally to death off to feed herself and her chronically ill child. If we implemented socialism in this country, things might have been easier on her.”

“But socialism is the precursor to communism. Don’t you think we should avoid succumbing to the communists?”

“Not at all. I think Marx had some great ideas that, if implemented, would greatly benefit our society.”

“You said your mother was an immigrant, right?” The interviewer asked, clearly wanting to change the subject. “What are your current thoughts on the issue of immigration? Surely as Captain America you don’t want terrorists entering the country?” 

“Based on my research, most terrorists are heterosexual, white, American-born, males. The media just focuses on those who aren’t to support their anti-Islamic crusades. Or, at least, that’s how I see it. America is the land of the free. We should be willing to let everyone in.”

“Oh,” he stumbled, clearly even more flustered. “I noticed you used the term ‘heterosexual.’ What are your thoughts on the gay rights movement? Homosexuality wasn’t legal when you were growing up, right?”

“Yeah, it was. Imagine how hard it was for little thirteen year old Steve Rogers realizing that he found both men and women attractive. I always figured that I could just only go out with women and ignore my attraction to men,” Steve told him with a smile. 

“What?” The interview asked, dumbfounded. 

“I believe the technical term for it is bisexual. I’m thankful that I grew up in Brooklyn when I did. It was one of the fastest places in America to be openly queer. Then I joined the army. Turns out, a lot of guys are into men. And those who weren’t were very open to the idea of, what’s the modern term for it, topping? A lot of guys were very into the idea of topping the great Captain America. I learned that I very much have a preference for being a bottom. I believe the current term is a power bottom,” Steve told him, trying hard not to laugh at the look of shock on the interviewer's face.

“Excuse me, what? Is captian America gay?” 

“Captain America is a character that I play when there are cameras turned on. Steve Rogers, on the other hand, is a raging bisexual with a preference for men.”

“But you claim to be bisexual, so that means you will still probably end up dating a woman.”

“Nope. I figured she. I got the serum that it would fix everything that was wrong with me. I am still very much attracted to men, so clearly there isn’t anything wrong with it. I’m actually currently in a relationship with a man. We’ve only been on one date, but we’ve known each other for a while and I feel like he’s something special.” 

“Okay, let's move on from sexuality, what were your thoughts on the civil rights movement?” 

“I’m actually very upset about that.”

“Really?”

“Yes. From the reading that I've done on the subject, it seems that the only real reason that the civil rights movement happened was because the Soviet Union was using it as propaganda against the United States. They were making posters about how the country was still lynching people well onto the 1950’s. The only reason Kennedy seemed to be so on board with it was to prove to the Soviet Union that we weren’t that awful. I wish I had the chance to match alongside Dr. Martin Luther King. I wish that I was still alive so that I could have helped speed up the process. The color of a person’s skin shouldn’t matter. Every human deserves to be treated equally. You don’t want to get me started on the pay gap.” 

“The pay gap?” 

“Yeah, the fact that women get paid less than men for doing the exact same job. How companies will deliberately give a woman a different job title so that they can pay them less money than a man and legally get away with it. I think it’s despicable. In my experience, women are much more competent than their male counterparts. I saw it with my mother and Peggy Carter back in the day. I see it with Black Widow and Pepper Potts now. Both the Avengers and Stark Industries would fall apart without them.”

“So Captain America is a gay feminist who supports the civil rights movement and immigrants.” 

“Yeah pretty much. I’ve actually watched your show in the past. I really do not understand why in this country it’s okay for an entire television station to be so bigoted. Back in my day, new was unbiased. No one took a side on issues, they would just tell us what was happening. I have serious issues with how the media has changed. And I find it horrific that you seem to think it’s acceptable to preach bigotry on your station.” 

“Well, I think that’s all we have time for today,” The rattled interview concluded. “Thank you for joining us today, Captain.” 

“Thank you so much for having me,” Steve said with a devilish smile. 

As soon as the camera cut off, the interview glared at Steve. 

“What the hell was that?” He asked, clearly irritated. 

“What do you mean?” Steve asked, feigning innocence.

“You know exactly what I mean.”

“Oh, are you talking about how I gave my honest opinions about things? How I refused to hide who I am? Is that what you are talking about?” 

Steve felt himself getting riled up. He wanted the interviewer to say something obviously bigoted. He wanted an excuse to punch him like he so desperately wanted to do, but he couldn’t. Mostly because Pepper noticed what was going on and made her way over to the pair. 

“Thank you so much for having us on your show,” Pepper said sweetly to the man. 

“Don’t expect it to happen again,” he spat out before storming off. 

Pepper turned to Steve with an unreadable look. 

“I’m used to this sort of thing from Tony. I didn’t realize I have to watch out for you too,” she sighed. 

“You really don’t, ma’am. I only get like this with bigots,” he said in an attempt to reassure her.

“That doesn’t make me feel better. Luckily, the next interview I have set up for you is with Jimmy Fallon tomorrow night. Hopefully it goes better than this.”

They quickly made their way out of the studio and headed back to the tower. Steve was very excited to see what Bucky and the other Avengers thought about his interview. 

What he wasn’t expecting, was to find the secretary of the World Security Council, Alexander Pierce, to be waiting in front of the tower. 

“Shit,” Pepper mumbled under her breath. She rolled down the partition between the back seat and the driver. “Happy, I’m going to need to do a few laps to make sure no one is watching us, then take Tony’s short cut into the tower.” 

“You’ve got it, Ms. Potts,” Happy agreed easily. 

“What’s going on,” Steve asked Pepper nervously. 

“I assume Pierce wants to talk to you about the interview. Or he wants to get to James. Probably both. Either way, it’s better to sneak us back into the tower and make sure that you and James are both safe.” 

“I can handle myself. But Bucky’s safety is my priority. If taking the ‘short cut’ into the tower helps, then I’m all in. Is there anything else that I could do?” 

“I’m sure that Tony and Fury already have the team gathered. They are likely just waiting for you.”


	7. Crime and Punish-Mint

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies, 
> 
> Sorry I’ve been away for so long. College sucks and so does writers block. Also, sorry that this chapter is shorter than usual, but it is the only way could get the story where I want it to go. Also, please check out the notes at the end of the chapter because I have a question for you guys that can only be answered after you read the chapter. 
> 
> Xoxo Kit

The moment Steve walked into the in-tower briefing room, he was engulfed in a hug. Bucky clung to him, putting his face in the crook of Steve’s neck. Steve immediately wrapped his arms around Bucky's waist, holding him tightly. They stood there for a few moments, silently holding on to each other. 

“Hi,” Bucky mumbled into his neck. 

“Hi,” Steve whispered back, dropping a kiss onto the top of Bucky's head. “How are you holding up?”

“Better now that you’re here.”

Someone behind Bucky cleared their throat. 

“I hate to interrupt this little moment, but we have more pressing matters to attend to,” Fury stated. “How about we all sit down.” 

Everyone made their way over to the conference table. Steve made sure that Bucky was sitting next to him, their seats as close together as possible. 

“So,” fury began once everyone had been seated, “if you weren't aware, SHIELD thinks that Mr. Barnes if responsible for leaking Captain Rogers identity. Everyone here knows he didn’t, and so does the man waiting at our front door. Agent Romanov and I have been doing some digging and it runs out that pierce has had agents tailing Rogers since he was found.”

“Excuse me, what?” Steve interrupted. “I would have known if I had a tail.”

“Not the way SHIELD does it,” Natasha jumped in. “They have plain clothes agents all around whatever city the target is in. If I were trailing you, I would follow you for a maximum of ten blocks. There would be someone close enough, tracking me, to jump in when I hit that mark. If you went into a store, they would send another agent to follow you out. If there is a place you go regularly, they have an agent planted as staff. SHIELD makes sure there is no way to know you’re being followed.”

Steve was fuming. How could SHIELD do something like that to him? Though, he has to begrudgingly give them credit. The system seemed perfect. There was no way to detect it if you were a hostile who needed to be observed. But he was Captain freaking America, he didn’t need to be tracked by the agency he was working for. 

Bucky, on the other hand, looked somewhere between mad and confused. Before Steve could ask what was wrong, he piped up. 

“So who was it?” He asked, much to Steve’s confusion. 

“Kate,” Natasha said, still leaving Steve wondering what was happening. 

“Technically Parker too,” Tony jumped in. “But he isn’t SHIELD, he’s just one of my interns who likes to gossip.”

“Anyone want to clue me in on what’s happening?” Steve finally asked. 

Bucky and Stark turned to Natasha, while she kept eye contact with Bucky. It was Bucky who caved to answer. 

“They had someone planted in my shop. It was Kate. Though apparently Peter was a little spy for Tony.”

Steve turned to Fury, making sure his ‘Captain America is disappointed in you look’ was plastered on. Kate was such a sweet young girl and he wasn’t happy to hear that she has been dragged into this. 

“We are going to table this conversation for a later date,” Steve told them. “I am not happy about any of this, but we have more pressing issues at hand. Why would pierce do this? Why now?”

Fury and Natasha exchanged a look before Fury spoke up. 

“We don’t know.”

“You don't know?” Steve asked, cocking an eyebrow. 

“Obviously he’s up to something nefarious,” Tony jumped back in. “I mean, look at the guy. He is textbook villain material. He’s a guy in a position of power who tracks the hero and tries to kidnap his lover and hold them hostage.”

“Well he’s not going to get to Bucky, you can be damn sure of that. How are we planning on figuring out what he’s up to? And how are we going to keep him away from Bucky?”

“Oh, I’ve got a plan for that Capsicle,” Tony said, borderline maniacally. “First of all, Jarvis is making his way into all of Pierce’s electronic devices and the devices of people that he is in regular contact with. They probably avoid using tech for evil, but it’s best to cover all of our bases. Then, when he showed up at my tower I sent out an unmanned quinjet to make him think that we were using that to smuggle Bucky bear out of the building. I also sent out a few cars to be safe. We’ve also got a man on the inside. Well, woman. Her name is agent Carter, yes she related to Aunt Peggy. She’s her niece, but as far as the world is concerned, she resents the SHIELD founder. It’s probably why Pierce has her so high up. I’ve also built bug out rooms on each of the floors that Bucky is permitted on. Pierce and his cronies break in, and we can make it look like your boy isn’t here. Everyone here has also been told to avoid elevators at all costs, in case of a power cut. We stick to Avengers floors only, unless absolutely necessary. If you need something from the outside world, we have Happy for that.” 

Steve felt a sense of relief for the first time since this whole situation began. They had a plan to keep Bucky safe. They had a man on the inside. They were going to figure out what Pierce wanted and then they were going to put an end to it. 

The group stayed for another hour or so to go over what each team member could contribute to the effort. They were also told where the bug out rooms were on each floor. And when it was all over, they took the stairs together to their individual floors. 

When Bucky and Steve made it back to Steve’s floor, they immediately went over to the couch. Steve sat down first, pulling Bucky on top of him. They sat in silence for a while, Bucky’s face tucked into the crook of Steve’s neck and Steve’s arms wrapped around Bucky. 

“So, I watched your interview,” Bucky said, breaking the silence. 

“Oh yeah,” Steve chuckled. “What did you think?”

“Tony and I couldn’t stop laughing. I can’t believe you called the host out on being a bigot. I’m shocked they didn’t cut the interview when you started bashing the Vietnam war. Then I figured it would get cut when you pointed out that most terrorists are homegrown. But the thing that absolutely killed me was that he kept going even after you told him you fucked your way through the army. Like, why would Fox let that keep going.” Bucky was laughing now, every breath tingling against Steve’s skin. 

“I’m shocked they let me get that far too. Would you think less of me if I told you that I spent the entire thing trying to see how much I would have to press to get them to cut it short?” 

“Not at all. I already know you’re a little shit. It’s one of the many things I like about you.”

“You like me?” Steve teases.

“I do,” Bucky tells him, looking up at him and biting his bottom lip. “I like you a lot.”

“Buck, I hate to break it to you, but that makes you sound super gay.”

Bucky breaks down laughing at that point. He buries his face back onto Steve’s neck and cracks up ,and Steve laughs along with him. 

“That’s rich from the man who publicly admitted to being a power bottom,” Bucky teases when he calms down enough to speak. 

“Shit, I did do that, didn’t I,” Steve facepalms. 

“Yeah, you did.” 

“Is that going to be a problem?” Steve teases. 

“Take me to the bedroom and I’ll show you that it isn't,” Bucky teases right back. 

Steve’s breath catches in his throat at that. He looks at Bucky, eyes widening slightly, as if to ask if he really meant it. Bucky shuffles so that he is straddling Steve’s thighs and presses a chaste kiss to his lips.

“I feel like we should switch positions,” Bucky jokes. 

“Take me to the bedroom and we can,” Steve says, mimicking what Bucky said moments before. 

Bucky gets up off of Steve’s lap and extends a hand out to him. Steve takes the offered hand and stands up from the couch.

“I wouldn’t mind a little distraction,” Bucky admits, making sure to keep a teasing tone. 

“Well, then I would be happy to provide you with one,” Steve tells him, leading the way to the bedroom. 

Steve plants a kiss on Bucky’s lips, pushing him down onto the soft mattress at the center of the room. They continue like that for a while, completely oblivious of the chaos erupting below them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Question time! 
> 
> Should I start the next chapter off with smut?   
> Or should I just go right to more plot?   
> I know if I added smut this chapter would have been longer but idk if it works in the story, so I’m going to leave that up to you guys. 
> 
> Thanks for your input 
> 
> -Kit


	8. Catcher in the Red Eye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies, 
> 
> So, I felt like writing smut in the chapter would be a little out of place. BUT a few of you commented that you did want it, so I decided to write it anyway. Instead of being at the beginning of the chapter, I posted it as a separate fic in this series called ‘Between the Scenes.’  
> So if you want smut, yay. If not, it’s easily avoidable! 
> 
> Xox Kit

“Fuck,” Steve breathed out as he climbed off of Bucky and collapsed onto the bed next to him. 

“Didn’t we just do that?” Bucky teased, trying to catch his breath as well. 

“Shut up,” Steve laughed. “I’m going to go get cleaned off.”

Steve forced himself to get off the bed, despite wanting nothing more than to cuddle up with his boyfriend. 

“But what about cuddles?” Bucky pouted. 

“I feel sticky and gross, so I need to shower. I promise I’ll be quick.”

Bucky continued to pout, giving Steve an idea. He walked over to his dresser and began rooting around in it for something. 

“As much as I hate to see you walk away from me, I sure don’t mind the view. Especially when you are naked,” Bucky joked from the bed. 

Steve could feel himself blush, but ignored it. He finally found what he had been looking for. 

He shut the drawer and walked back over to the bed. He unceremoniously plopped a pile of fabric on top of Bucky, before walking towards the bathroom.

“What did you just throw on me, Rogers?” Bucky asked. 

“Well,” Steve started, turning back to face Bucky. “It’s a pair of comfy sweatpants and my favorite sweater. I figured if you’re so upset about me leaving for five minutes, maybe wearing my clothes would help. Also, I know that sweater will be huge on you and you will look fucking adorable in it.” 

“Thanks Stevie,” Bucky blushed. 

“Sure thing, Buck.” 

With that, Steve made his way to the bathroom. 

The bathroom on his floor was massive. The counter of the vanity was made of granite, with three sinks in it. Why that was necessary, Steve could not tell you. There were also two separate tubs. One was a beautiful clawfoot tub that looked like it belonged in a palace. The other was large enough to fit at least four people and was full of jets. Then there was the shower. While it had a normal shower head mounted on the wall, Stark also made sure to install a rain shower. At first, Steve thought it was unnecessary. Now, however, it was the one that he prefered to use. Not that he would ever admit that. 

He started up the shower and stepped into it. He enjoyed the feeling of the hot water cascading down his back. It was relaxing after the intensity of the last hour. 

After a minute of reveling in the warmth, Steve grabbed his favorite body wash and started to clean himself off. He made sure to scrub every nook and cranny, to insure he cleaned up the mess from earlier. He rinsed off the suds and then reached for the shampoo. He quickly lathered it though his hair and rinsed it out. He stood for a few more glorious seconds under the water before shutting it off. As much as he loved that shower, he did have a boyfriend to go cuddle. 

Steve grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist as he stepped out of the shower. Somewhere outside the bathroom, he heard a thump. He didn’t hear any sounds following, so he assumed that Bucky had just dropped something. 

He made his way over to the vanity to take a good look at himself. He could see the faint remnants of the marks that Bucky left all over his body. When he removed his towel to dry his hair, he could see fading bruises on his hips where Bucky had held him. He wrapped the towel back around his waist, and gave himself one last look. He couldn’t help but smile. 

For the first time since he had woken up from the ice, he was finally happy. 

At least, until he heard Bucky screaming. 

Steve rushed to the door to try and get to Bucky, only to find that it wouldn’t budge. He kept turning the lock, but the door stayed closed. 

“Steve!” He heard Bucky crying out for him. 

“Bucky!” He shouted back. 

He had to get to his baby. He took a few steps back, then ran into the door to break it open. When that failed, he went back even farther before ramming into the door. 

“Bucky, I’m coming for you. I’m going to keep you safe, baby,” Steve yelled through the door, hoping Bucky could hear him. 

As he heard Bucky’s now muffled screams throughout the floor, he kept running harder into the door. Even when it had gone silent, Steve kept trying to break down the door. He had to get out. He had to get to Bucky. 

He had to try one last time. He went to the far side of the bathroom and bolted towards the door. At the last second the door opened, causing Steve to run into the wall, leaving a super soldier sized dent in it. 

When he came back to his senses a little, he looked to see who had opened the door. He found himself met with Stark, who looked both terrified and slightly irritated. 

“I really want to be mad at you for property damage, but you did get trapped in there, so I’ll cut you some slack,” Stark said. Steve couldn’t tell if he was just being a prick or if he was trying, and failing, to use humor to lighten the mood. Steve figured the former was the more likely scenario. 

“Where’s Bucky,” Steve demanded. 

“Why don’t you put some clothes on before we talk,” Stark suggested. 

In response, Steve crowded him up against the wall and looked him dead in the eye. 

“Where the fuck is my boyfriend?” He repeated through gritted teeth. 

Tony went white as a sheet. It was rare that Steve ever got this mad and he knew when he did, it was not fun to be on the receiving end of it. 

“Stand down Rogers,” Natasha said from off to the side. Steve wondered when she had arrived. Or was she there the entire time, and he just hadn’t noticed. 

Steve backed away from Tony, albeit reluctantly. He turned to Natasha to try and get a read on her. As expected, her face and body language revealed nothing. 

“What happened?” He asked her, knowing she would at least give him something that resembled an answer. 

“The tower was breached. Fury wants us all on the common floor. Put some clothes on so we can see what he knows.” 

Steve gave her a slight nod before he made his way to his bedroom. He was not expecting the sight that met him upon entering. The room was an absolute mess. The sheets were all over the floor, his dresser was face down on the floor, and the lamp on his nightstand was shattered on the floor. Bucky had clearly put up a fight, but it wasn’t enough. 

He walked over to the dresser and lifted it back up so that he could dig through the drawers. He pulled out the first pair of sweatpants he could find and a sweater. He threw them on quickly, not caring that the green sweatpants with the orange sweater clashed. He just needed to be clothed to get answers, he didn’t need to look coordinated. 

Natasha and Tony were waiting for him in the foyar. The three of them walked to the elevator in silence. Without needing to be asked, Jarvis shut the doors and started moving towards the common room. 

It didn’t take long for them to reach the common room. When they stepped out of the elevator, more silence awaited them. 

Sitting at the conference table were Clint, Pepper, Thor, Banner, and Fury, all looking at Steve with varying degrees of pity. Except for Pepper, she looked at Steve like she knew exactly what he was going through, because she did. 

She was the first to stand up, making her way over to Steve and wrapping him up in a hug. 

“Everyone’s going to tell you that it’s going to be okay and you’re going to want to punch every single one of them,” she whispered to him, making him let out a huffed laugh. “If you need someone, please don’t hesitate to talk to me. I’ve been where you are before.” 

“Thanks, Pepper,” he whispered back to her, giving her a soft squeeze before letting go. 

He then turned to face Fury. He put on a brave face, getting ready for the conversation that was to come. 

“So, what do we know?” 

“About an hour ago, a tour of Stark Tower started. Some of the people on this tour were members of a group called Hydra,” Fury began, only to be cut off by a fuming Steve. 

“What? No. That can’t be possible. We destroyed Hydra during the war. One of the first things that you told me when I woke up was that Hydra was gone.”

Fury glared at him, waiting for him to finish his rant. When Steve was finally done, Fury started back up again. 

“I was relaying what I was told. Clearly, the people that gave me the information were wrong. Maybe this could be a new group of people who decided to resurrect it. I don’t know. All I do know is that they managed to get into the tower, get up to your floor, and take your boy without getting caught.” He paused for a moment to look at Tony, who was staring down at his phone. “Mr. Stark, anything on that phone going to tell us how they broke on here?” 

“Hm?” Tony mumbled, looking up from the device. “Oh, no. I don’t have a clue how they broke in, and I don’t like not knowing things. J, any thoughts?” With that, Tony buried his head back on his phone. 

“I am unsure as well,” Jarvis chimed in from above. “It is likely that they had someone working in the building to assist with the plan. I have also just received a message from someone claiming they have Mr. Barnes. Would you like me to read it?”

“Obviously,” Steve nearly shouted. “Jesus Tony, you would think your stupid robot butler would be smart enough not to ask stupid questions.” 

Tony’s eyes snapped up and leveled him with a glare. 

“I know you aren’t the biggest fan of Jarvis, but that doesn’t mean you need to take your anger out on him right now.”

Steve rolled his eyes, but didn’t respond verbally. He stared up at the ceiling as if to tell Jarvis to read the note. 

“Captain Rogers,” Jarvis began. “I hope we are not too late to welcome you to the new century. Like you, our organization has survived all these years unbeknownst to anyone. Hydra did not die with the Red Skull, we thrived without him. We have infiltrated the governments of the world, intelligence agencies, everything. The only place we did not have an inside man was the Avengers, at least, until now. We have taken your friend James Barnes and intend to keep him. If you do not want to see him injured if killed, you will become our inside man, so to speak. You will carry out Hydra’s will, or he will be killed. You will have your orders, as well as proof of life, within the day.” 

Everyone stared at Steve, waiting to see how he would react. He felt like an animal on display at the zoo. All the spectators surrounding him, waiting to see if he would do a trick or just lay down to sleep. He wanted to yell. He wanted to scream. He wanted to punch a hole through the wall, and he wanted to collapse on the floor sobbing. He couldn’t do any of those things though. None of them would bring Bucky back. 

Steve closed his eyes and took a deep breath to steady himself. He opened his eyes and looked at the team. 

“So what are we going to do?” He asked them. “Do we at least know who the individuals involved in the attack were? Stark?”

Tony was yet again staring at his phone, oblivious to the conversation around him. 

“Sorry, What was the question?” He asked, looking up. 

“Do we know who did this?” Steve asked as calmly as he could. 

“We know what their faces look like, yes. But we don’t have names of any other info. Jarvis is running facial recognition, but it’s likely that these people are ghosts.”

“Damnit. Fury, what are you doing about this?”

“I still don’t trust Pierce and his involvement with SHIELD at the moment, so I was hoping to keep this between all of us. But I will try to see what I can find without sounding any alarms. For now, I think the best thing to do is wait to see what they want and get that proof of life. Until then, all we can do is be patient.” 

Steve was not the best at being patient, if history had proven anything. 

“So you just want me to sit on my ass and wait for them to tell me what to do? And then what, do Hydra’s bidding? No way in hell am I doing that!” Steve shouted at Fury. 

“Well Captain, it doesn’t seem like you have any other option. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to see what I can dig up.” 

Steve was fuming as Fury made his way out of the room. He clenched his fists shut, telling himself that punching things was not going to get anything done, no matter how satisfying it would be. 

He looked around the room at his fellow Avengers. They all wore the same looks of pity they did when Steve walked in. At least, everyone but Tony. He was still looking down at that stupid fucking phone, and Steve was not happy about it. 

Steve stalked over to where Tony was sitting. He grabbed onto the back of his chair and pulled it out from under the table. Without a second though, he walked in front of Tony and pulled him up by his shirt. He then dragged Tony over to the nearest wall, wrapped his hand around his throat, and shoved him up against it. 

He could hear the gasps of everyone else in the room, but he didn’t care. Tony wasn’t taking this seriously, so steve had to make him. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you Stark,” Steve spat out as he shoved Tony up against the wall. “What the fuck on your phone could be so much more important than trying to figure out where Bucky is?” 

Tony looked even more frightened than he had earlier that day. Steve also didn’t have a hand squeezing his neck then. 

“Steve,” Natasha said softly, “I know you are upset, but you have to let go of him.” 

“Not until he tells me what was so fucking important.” 

Steve tightened his grip on Tony’s throat to encourage the engineer to talk. 

“Can’t. Breathe.” Tony finally managed to squeak out. 

Steve loosened his grip on Tony’s neck, but refused to remove his hand. 

“Promise me you won’t be mad?” Tony asked. 

“No, but I’ll be more upset if you don’t talk,” Steve told him. 

“So remember how a few days ago your identity came out and SHIELD wanted to blame Bucky for it? Well, I hated the idea of losing the brilliant new mind that I had literally just hired so I did something that is either really stupid or a soljtly genius.” 

“Stark, What did you do?”

“I may or may not have embedded an untraceable tracker into your boyfriend and I may or may not know his exact location at this very moment.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Hopefully the next one will be up soon since the semester is over, but I make no promises. 
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated!
> 
> -Kit


	9. The Secret Galão

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies!
> 
> I am So so so sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter to you guys....... The good thing is, I finally managed to get back in the zone with writing! 
> 
> I’d just like to say a quick thank you to everyone who is reading this story and leaving comments and kudos. I really appreciate it. 
> 
> And as you can tell by the chapter count, this story is coming to an end. This is ‘technically’ the last chapter chapter. The last chapter will be the epilogue! 
> 
> I think that’s all I have to say here.... 
> 
> Xoxo Kit

“Tony.” 

“No.” 

“Tony.” 

“No” 

“Anthony I swear to god!” 

“You, swearing! Gasp”

“Tony I’m serious. Tell me where he is.” 

“Cap, buddy. I do not feel comfortable sharing that information with you.” 

“You stuck a tracker on my boyfriend who was FUCKING KIDNAPPED. TELL ME WHERE HE IS SO I CAN GO SAVE HIM!” 

“Steve, you are too emotionally invested. If it was Pepper who got kidnapped you would bench me. And you would be right to do it. We all like Bucky and want him home safe. Let us do this for you.” 

“Fine,” Steve grumbled reluctantly. “But. All of you need to wear cameras and have me on the comms. I want to see what’s happening in real time. If I can’t physically be there I want to see everything.” 

“We can do that,” Tony agreed.

“Thank you.” 

“Bucky’s location hasn’t changed for a while and probably won’t. I’ll send the address to Fury so we can get started on the recon. With any luck we will have him back by the end of the day.” 

Steve gave a curt nod, then asked if he was needed for anything else. When Tony said no, Steve made his way to the gym so he could finally punch something. 

He wasn’t entirely sure how long he was in front of the heavy bag, but by the time he was done his knuckles were bleeding and there was sand pouring out of a ripped seam. 

All he wanted to do was force Tony to give him the location and get Bucky back. Part of him didn’t care that he was too emotionally invested in it. That’s what made him who he was. He would dive into any situation head first without thinking about the consequences. He just wanted to do the right thing. 

But this was different. This was personal. All those other times he acted before thinking, the only person he was putting at risk was himself. Now he had another person to think about. Now he had to weigh the consequences of his action. His bullheadedness could get the man he loves killed, all because he wasn’t going in with a clear head. 

He hated how right everyone was about the situation. He hated that he would have to sit idly by as his fellow Avengers did all the work. Sure, he could aid them through the coms since he would be watching live video, but he wouldn’t be there to help them if they needed it. If one of them got hurt, that would be on him. 

Since he had destroyed the heavy bag, he switched to running. The treadmill in the gym was custom made by Tony so that Steve could run as fast as he wanted to. The team learned very quickly that a normal treadmill didn’t reach a high enough speed for him. 

Steve ran until he couldn’t feel his legs anymore. He wasn’t sure how long he was at it, but it was now dark out. When he shut the machine off and stepped off of it, he saw Natasha leaning up against the wall behind him. 

“How long have you been standing there?” He breathed out. 

“Not long. Longer that it should have taken you to notice me,” she chastises him. 

“If you hadn’t noticed, I’m not in the best frame of mind at the moment.” 

“I’m aware.”

“Why are you here?”

“I need to talk to you. After you shower. You smell like a locker room.” 

With that being said, Natasha left the gym. 

Steve went back up to his floor to take a shower, a quick one at that. He assumed whatever Natasha had to tell him was about Bucky. 

Once he was finally out and dressed, Jarvis directed him to where Natasha and the rest of the team were. When he got to the conference room Clint, Natasha, and Thor were suited up, Bruce was there in case a code green was necessary, and Tony and Pepper were setting up monitors, as well as making sure that everyone had cameras on their suits. 

“So you know where he is now?” Steve asked Tony, who didn’t look up from his task to respond. 

“Technically I’ve known where he has been this entire time. We were just waiting for his location to remain constant for a little while, which it has. Romanov also needed time to make her extraction plan,” Tony explained. 

“How far out is he? And what’s the plan?” 

“Not that far,” Natasha jumped in. “It will take about 15 minutes on the quinjet to reach him. After tha, Clint and I go in as quietly as possible with Tony and Thor on the perimeter in case we need a little more fire power. Bruce will be waiting in the quinjet unless a code green is required. Theoretically, we should be in and out in less than 20 minutes. Assuming that they don’t have him heavily guarded. They have no idea we know where they are holding Bucky. Don’t worry Steve, we will have him back to you within the next hour and a half at most.” 

Steve was relieved when Natasha explained the plan to him. If everything went according to it, he would have Bucky back in his arms in no time. He knew his team knew what they were doing. He had done many ops like this with them since he joined the team. The odds were, Tony and Thor wouldn’t even be needed. 

But even though he was confident in his team, Steve still found himself praying to a God he wasn’t entirely sure he believed in anymore. 

Once all the monitors and cameras were in place and fully functional, the team made their way out of the conference room, leaving Steve with Pepper. She made her way over to the chairs in front of the monitors and motioned for him to join her. When he was seated next to her, she took his hand in hers and gave him a reassuring squeeze. 

“It’s going to be okay Steve. They will have him before you know it,” she said softly. 

“The logical part of me knows that’s the case,” he started. 

“But in a situation like this, all logical thought goes out the window?” She finished.

“Yeah. I just wish that I was there with them.”

“Remember that I know what you are going through. When Tony got kidnapped I felt so helpless. All I could do was coordinate or make phone calls to the people who could help to find him. Though, I get the feeling you feel even more helpless. With Tony, I knew there was nothing more that I could do. I couldn’t fly out to the Middle East and run around the desert to try and find him. You, on the other hand, know that technically you can be out there with them. Knowing you could help and being benched must feel terrible.” 

“I just wish that I had control over the situation. He’s my boyfriend so I should be there taking the lead. I feel like I should be the first face that he sees when he’s being rescued. It makes me worry that he will think he’s not important to me because I wasn’t out there fighting to get him back.” 

“Bucky is an intelligent man Steve. He will understand why you couldn’t be there. You would be fighting with your heart, not your head, and that can be a dangerous thing in these types of situations.” 

“Hopefully he does.” 

“Earth to Capsicle and Pep,” Tony’s voice rang out through the speakers. One, your mics are on so we all got to hear your little heart-to-heart. Two, I will be sure to take full responsibility for benching you. I will even tell him you threatened my life. And three, we are about to land. It’s go time.”

Pepper gave Steve’s hand another squeeze as they watched the monitors. 

The quinjet landed and the team made their way out. Tony wrapped his arms around Clint and Natasha to fly them up to the roof before making his way back to his position on the perimeter. Thor was on the opposite side of the building from Tony. 

Once they were on the roof, Clint and Natasha made their way into the building through the air vents. They signed something to each other before going their separate ways in the ducts. Steve was on the edge of his seat watching as the pair of spies would stop at every vent to see what was in the room. 

After a few tense minutes of searching Clint finally stopped and worked on prying open a vent. 

“I’ve got him Cap,” he whispered just loud enough for the team to hear. “I’m going in.” 

Steve was laser focused on cClint’s monitor. It got blurry for a moment as he silently jumped out of the duct. When he landed, the camera was directly facing Bucky, who was bound to a chair, blindfolded, and slightly bloodied. 

“Who’s in here?” Bucky croaked out, his voice gravely as if he had been shouting. 

“Hawkeye,” Clint whispered. “I’m here to get you out and back to your boyfriend.” 

Clint walked over to the chair and pulled off Bucky’s blindfold first. Up close, Steve could see that his face was bruised and that the cut above his eyebrow was still bleeding a little. Steve wasn’t happy to see the injuries, but was so relieved to see that Bucky was mostly okay. 

“Where’s Steve?” He asked Clint as he untied the ropes around his wrists, chest, and legs. 

“Stark benched him. Don't worry, your boy put up a fight to be brought along, but we didn’t give him a choice. He’s watching all of this though cameras on our suits and he’s patched in on our coms. Here,” Clint explained, taking out his com to put it into Bucky’s ear. “Just remember that the entire team can hear everything you are saying. 

“Stevie?” 

“Hey sweetheart, I’m here. Clint and everyone else are going to get you home nice and safe. I’ll be right there when the quinjet lands.”

Before Bucky could respond, Steve heard gunshots going off and a string of expletives coming from Natasha. 

“Stark, Thor. We need some back up, like yesterday.” 

“On it Romanov, what’s your 20,” Tony said, flying into action, Thor not far behind him. 

“Bucky, baby, you’re gonna have to give the com back to Clint so he can get you out of there safely.”

“Okay,” Bucky said as he handed the com back to Clint. 

Once the com was back on Clint's ear Steve snapped. 

“What the fuck Romanov?”

“Someone had to get some fucking intel on these bastards,” she said between punching and kicking. 

“Was this some more of Fury’s precious delegating? The mission is to rescue Bucky.” 

“No, everyone else’s mission was to rescue Bucky. Mine was to steal their hard drives.” 

“Steve, you and Romanov fighting isn’t helping anything!” Tony shouted over them. “If anything, it’s making it harder for us to focus.” 

“Hey, Clint jumped in. “Anyone know if the ducts are fair game? I wanna get Barnes out of here as quickly as possible.”

“I’m not sure if that is the best of ideas with all the bullets and repulsor beams flying around,” Tony explained. “Tell me where you are and Thunder thighs and I will clear a path.” 

Clint rattled off their location and the rest of the team made their way over. It took a few minutes, but they eventually made their way to the room to get Clint and Bucky out. 

As they headed out of the building, Thor took the lead, Clint and Natasha were on either side of Bucky, with Tony pulling up the rear. 

By the time they made it back to the quinjet, Bruce had started it up so they were ready to go. 

Clint and Natasha took their places in the cockpit, Thor sat down in one of the seats towards the back of the quintet, Tony led Bucky to a seat closer to the cockpit, and Bruce sat next to Bucky with a first aid kit at the ready. 

“Welcome back kid,” Tony smiled as Bruce began to clean up Bucky’s wounds. “What’s the first thing you want when you get back? When I finally made it back to the good ole U.S.of.A all I could think about was getting a cheeseburger. You want cheeseburgers?” 

“All I want is to hug my boyfriend,” Bucky answered honestly. “And a nap.” 

“I think we can make that happen, Buckaroo. We should be back to the tower in ten minutes.”

“Good.” 

Steve left the com in his ear, but left the conference room with Pepper trailing behind him. He wanted to be there the second the quinjet landed. 

After waiting Tony’s predicted ten minutes, Steve could see the quinjet making its approach. The second it was on the ground, Steve walked over to where he knew the doors would open. 

When the doors opened, Bucky ran out of the quinjet and practically jumped into Steve’s arms. He wrapped his arms around his neck and buried his face into Steve’s shoulder. Steve, thankful for his strength, pulled Bucky up by his thighs so he could wrap around him like a koala. 

“Do you want to go back to my floor and lay down?” Steve asked. 

Instead of responding verbally, Bucky nodded his head. 

Without waiting for approval from his teammates, Steve carried Bucky back down to his room. He knew they would have to debrief at some point, but that would have to wait. His boyfriend needed him there for comfort, so he would provide it for him. 

Instead of going straight to the bed, Steve placed Bucky down on the counter by the sink and began to draw a bath. Bucky gave him a questioning look, but seemed to figure out where Steve was going with this. He pulled out a lavender bath bomb and added it to the tub as it filled up. 

“Do you want me to join you in the tub, sit next to it, or leave you alone?” Steve questioned as he shut off the water. 

“With me,” Bucky mumbled. 

Steve nodded and gave him a peck on the cheek before prompting him to hop off the counter. He helped Bucky out of his clothes, then pulled off his own. Steve got into the tub first to allow Bucky to sit comfortably between his legs, back to chest. 

They sat there in silence for a few minutes, savoring the feeling of being back together before Bucky spoke up. 

“So, how did you guys find me?” 

Steve stiffened, and not in the fun way, behind him. Clearly, Tony had not informed him about the tracker. 

“Before I tell you, just know that I wasn’t aware of this until after you were taken.” 

“Now I’m a little worried.” 

“Well, you see. Tony decided to implant a tracker somewhere on your body. I don’t know how and I don’t know where, but I’ve never been so thankful for that man’s lack of boundaries.”

“You and me both.” 

They fell back into a peaceful silence, Bucky leaning back against Steve, who would plant a kiss on his head every so often. 

Eventually the water was too cold to be enjoyable, so they had to get out. Steve wrapped Bucky up in the fluffiest towel he owned. He then found him the comfiest sweatpants and shirt in his closet. After everything he went through in the last day, Steve wanted Bucky to be as comfortable as possible. 

He pulled back the covers and the two of them crawled into bed together. Bucky snuggled up close to Steve, who wrapped his arm securely around the brunette's waist. He gave him a peck on the forehead as he pulled him closer. 

“Thank you,” Bucky whipped into Steve’s chest. 

“For what?” 

“For saving me. I know you weren’t there in person, but you still had a hand in it. So thank you.” 

“I’ll always save you, sweetheart. Though, let’s hope we are never in a situation like that again.”

Bucky chuckled as he shifted away a little so that he could look up at Steve. 

“Hey Stevie?” 

“Yeah Buck?” 

“I love you,” Bucky said shyly. 

“I love you too,” Steve repeated with a smile on his face. 

Bucky reached up to place a chaste kiss on Steve’s lips before burrowing back into his arms. It wasn’t long before he fell into a peaceful sleep.

Steve spent longer than he was willing to admit watching Bucky sleep. He couldn’t help himself. Bucky looked so peaceful. He was also hopelessly in love with the man in his arms. 

For the first time in a while, Steve fell asleep with a smile on his face. And it was all thanks to the beautiful man who he had wrapped up in his arms. The man that he loved, and who loved him back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!   
> I appreciate each and every one of you   
> Comments and kudos are always appreciate. Please share your thoughts on the story with me! 
> 
> I’ll talk to you again when I’m back with the epilogue! 
> 
> \- Kit


	10. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies, 
> 
> This it it! This is the end! Thank you for stating with this fic and I hope you enjoyed it!   
> I hope you like my stupidly fluffy ending! 
> 
> Xoxo Kit

In the time since Bucky had been kidnapped, Steve’s relationship with him had flourished. They kept mostly out of the public eye, but given Steve’s celebrity their dates occasionally made it to the tabloids. 

Three months after, Steve decided it was time to move out of the Avengers Tower and get his own place. He packed up his meager possessions and moved them to a brownstone in Brooklyn, which he would share with his boyfriend. 

Sure, there were arguments over silly things. Steve would go out on missions and Bucky would wear holes in their floor from all his nervous pacing. Bucky would make the commute from Brooklyn to Manhattan every day for work, which was tiring but well worth it. They made sure to have a date night every Saturday, Steve mission schedule permitting, but they tried to go something more than once a week.

Steve’s favorite thing to do with Bucky was to have Disney movie marathons. Once Bucky learned that Steve had seen Snow White while it was still in the theater, he made it his personal mission to catch Steve up on all things Disney. Living together made it easier to get through all the animated films, and the pair was now on their third round of watching all the movies. 

They were sitting together on the couch, having just finished watching Planes. Before moving on to the next movie, which was Frozen, Bucky got up to make some more popcorn. 

The moment Bucky walked away, Steve came up with a plan. It was something he had been thinking about for a while, but just wasn’t sure how to execute it. He got off the couch and went to their bedroom as quickly and quietly as he could to get what he needed. He quickly shoved the item into his pocket and god back to the couch, Bucky unaware that he even left. 

Bucky snuggled back up against Steve as he pressed play on the movie. They munched on their popcorn as the movie played, Steve trying to find the right moment to pipe up. 

That moment came when Anna and Elsa were talking during the party following her coronation. 

“Hey Buck?”

“Yeah?” 

“Wanna move the coffee table out of the way and dance and sing like idiots to the next song?” 

Bucky’s face lit up at the question. 

“Absolutely!”

The pair got up from the couch to move the table and prepare for the performance of a lifetime. 

As Hans grabs Anna’s hand to catch her as she trips, Steve offers his hand out to Bucky and they begin to waltz around the room. They laugh and continue their dance and Anna and Hans talk before the song begins. 

Steve gave Bucky a smile as the first notes of the song started playing. 

“Okay, can I just, say something crazy?” Bucky asks, in time with Anna. 

“I love crazy!” Steve replies, giving Bucky a teasing smirk. 

“All my life has been a series of doors in my face, and then suddenly I bump into you,” Bucky sings, clearly not trying to sound good. 

“I was thinking the same thing! 'Cause like I've been searching my whole life to find my own place and maybe it's the party talking or the chocolate fondue.”

“But with you,”

“But with you,”

“I found my place,” 

“I see your face,”

“And it's nothing like I've ever known before! Love is an open door! Love is an open door! Love is an open door!” They sing in unison. 

“With you!” Bucky starts. 

“With you!”

“With you!”

“With you!”

“Love is an open door,” they sing together again. 

“I mean it's crazy,” Steve starts. 

“What?”

“We finish each other's…..”

“Sandwiches!”

“That's what I was gonna say!”

“I've never met someone” 

“Who thinks so much like me! Jinx! Jinx again! Our mental synchronization can have but one explanation,” they sing together, breaking out into the robot like their animated counterparts. 

“You,” Steve sings. 

“And I”

“Were” 

“Just”

“Meant to be!”

“Say goodbye”

“Say goodbye”

“To the pain of the past we don't have to feel it anymore! Love is an open door! Love is an open door! Life can be so much more!”

“With you!”

“With you!”

“With you!”

“With you!”

“Love is an open door”

As Anna and Hans make a heart with their hands over the moon, Steve drops down to one knee and pulls out a simple, silver engagement ring from his pocket. 

“Can I say something crazy? Will you marry me?” He says in time with Hans, voice shaking slightly. 

Bucky’s eyes tear up as he misses Anna’s response. He smiles down at Steve, and lets out a wet laugh. 

“Can I say something even crazier? Yes.”

Fin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for reading! I love each and every one of you! 
> 
> As alway, comments and kudos are appreciated. Ya bitch needs some validation 😂
> 
> ALSO for anyone who is interested, I am also writing a Soulmates AU fic called After All This Time! So if you want to read more by me, head on over to that WIP (as of the moment I’m typing this note at least). 
> 
> Love you all!
> 
> Xoxo 
> 
> \- Kit


End file.
